


Severus Foreverus

by EliLeFey



Category: Arthurian Mythology & Related Fandoms, Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 16:16:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 79,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4066456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EliLeFey/pseuds/EliLeFey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS MY WRITING ABOUT SEVERUS, ACTUALLY AR'S CHARACTER, AND I LOATHE AND DESPISE WHAT JKR HAS DONE WITH CURSED CHILD, KILLING OFF HER HERO AND BRINGING BACK SEVERUS.  I GUESS THAT HO REALIZED THAT SHE REALLY MESSED UP AND IS NOW TRYING TO GO BACK ON HER OWN WORDS.  I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT I FEEL OUT HER BECAUSE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE DOES NOT CONTAIN ENOUGH CURSE WORDS TO TELL YOU HOW I REALLY FEEL ABOUT HER.  HE MADE HER FILMS INTO ART, NO THANKS TO HER PUTRID CHILDREN'S STORY. (dated 8/22/16)   Severus Snape did not die, he was saved by his school friend and later friend with benefits, Eli le Fey, the first (and last) Faerie student at Hogwarts.  Eli is from Avalon, an adept in mentalics, a student of all the psionic arts and psychohistory.  She is a Warrior and works with the White Tigers of the West on Terra, as the Fey call our realm.  When Avalon went into the mists over a thousand years ago with the Druids and the Vanir, they escaped into another realm, but have maintained contact with Terra.  They do not interfere directly with human affairs, but infiltrate, investigate, and instigate.  Since they use both magic and science, they are far advanced in both.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. IN RE:  SEVERUS SNAPE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli testifies for Severus at the Wizengamot, their relationship and other secrets are revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am using brackets to indicate when the characters are communicating non verbally. This is really too much to be a single chapter, it's more of a prologue and the story begins in Chapter 2 at the beginning, when the characters meet, and "both are transformed"

Albus Dumbledore met Eli le Fey at the Leaky Cauldron at noon on a dismal rainy day in early winter. She was wearing her full dress uniform, insignia and decorations sparkling in the subdued light, carrying a trench coat and dispatch case. Her boots and leather gear gleamed, Dyrnwyn’s diamond pommel threw off flashes of light. He clasped her hands when she sat down next to him. “You look fantastic in that uniform.”

“’Do I glitter when I walk?’”

“Are you hungry, Eli? You should probably eat something. So you’re a Captain now?”

“Battlefield promotions, if you lived you got promoted fast. We’re restoring what we can, but it’s never going to be the same. I wish I could have seen it before all the troubles.

"I read the transcript you sent me. They don’t have anything on Severus, I know he didn’t do anything criminal.”

“The main thing they seem to be interested in is the letters, they want to know what you two were corresponding about, and they couldn’t read the letters you wrote because of the magic; they couldn’t break the privacy spell. Severus refuses to state what you wrote, so they think the worst. He was quite upset when the letters were confiscated; he told me he knew he should have destroyed them but he couldn’t. As if he would not destroy anything incriminating.”

“They can’t seriously think that we were conspiring against the Ministry? Almighty Artemis,did they think in the middle of the worst daemon war in a thousand years I had the time to work up a plan against them? As if they weren’t already destroying themselves from within, totally unable to face inconvenient truths. I swear, my life in this realm has been nothing but belaboring the obvious to the oblivious and pointlessly trying to enlighten the deliberately ignorant and willfully stupid.”

“They are just doing this for show, they aren’t interested in finding the truth.”

“Too many in the Ministry might have to resign with extreme prejudice, eh? I noticed the names on the subpoena … every one of ‘em were in the anti Faerie faction, the ones who’ve been holding back any progress on the treaty. The ones who murdered my father.”

“How much do you know about that?”

“The Investigators in Faerie are all necromancers. They have confessions from some of the conspirators; after death, some finally come to regret their transgressions. Of course our homicide investigators are the only ones who can interview the victims, so they have the advantage over any Terran investigators, Muggle or Magi. We have all Father’s notes and evidence in Faerie. It’s not admissible in court, according to the Ministry, and our laws don’t apply in this realm, and there is a strict ‘no extradition’ policy. They’re just letting me know that they are in charge. As if. Riddle thinks he’s in charge, no one is.”

“Things are falling apart; ‘the center cannot hold’ and we are in for some trying times, not that I’d have to tell a Faerie that.”

“I think I’d rather fight daemons than try to help here, which I’m forbidden to do anyway,” she said with a tight smile.

“There were some who thought you should be charged with espionage, in violation of the neutrality agreement.”

“Let me guess, Malfoy and the Minions were behind it.”

“They even approached the Pacific Rim Authority with their charges, and got sent on their merry way with some blisters on their backsides.”

Eli chuckled. “I can imagine, the Guardians don’t take kindly to having one of their own accused of that, and especially a Faerie, since we are about the worst spies ever. That’s why we have to turn double agents and use defectors instead. It’s a fine line between lawful espionage and perfidy, something the Druids are always arguing about, where to draw the line. Especially with double agents. Severus is intelligent enough to pull it off, I’m sure. He’d make one hell of a Druid.

“I don’t think Severus quite realized what he was getting into. I can’t help but wonder if they didn’t do something to him to get him to enlist. I wasn’t wrong about him.”

“I didn’t realize how disturbed Riddle was when I had him here as a student.”

Eli looked him straight in the eye. “If you knew then what you knew now, what would you have done differently? Would you believed him capable of such depravity? You know what I find disturbing? That the Ministry keeps such close track of ‘magical children’ yet does nothing about domestic abuse and neglect. You should set up some kind of department, call it the Magical Child Protective Services, something like that. Why not an orphanage? Foster care? Lily’s son would have been better off under proper supervision. Firenze wondered what you were thinking, turning that baby over to Muggles, without even doing domestic surveillance to see if it was a suitable environment. Nope, you just dumped him on a doorstep. Lily herself told me her sister was jealous about her gifts, and they didn’t get along at all. And certainly if there had been a proper orphanage Riddle would not have turned out so badly.The policy of marginalizing and ignoring the disturbed and megalomaniacal means that Riddle and his sycophants were able to establish a power base, narcissists can be very charismatic and seem to be godlike at first, that’s how they get you to trust ‘em. they never show you the bad side until you’ve already gone past the point of no return. So they rounded up the unwanted, the discarded, and the disenfranchised, and it took off from there."

“Always doing your psychohistorical research on Terrans, aren’t you? I think you know more about this realm than most people in it.”

“That isn’t very difficult, considering the level of insight commonly found among Terrans. My stomach’s in a knot. I really don’t want to go to that place. I have to walk past where my father was murdered. Then I have to go discuss my feelings for Severus in front of all those people.”

Dumbledore smiled. “You’re afraid they will ask about your sexual relationship, and yes, they will ask that question. It’s not like rumors about the two of you hadn’t been one of the leading topics of gossip at Hogwarts, even before you did get involved, so get it out of the way immediately. Don’t go into detail, but you should realize it gives you an alibi, that you weren’t passing on forbidden information, you were lovers. I know you don’t use that word, but that’s the word they will use to describe your relationship. May I?” he said, and touched her 3rd eye. “I’m Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, I will control the questions, just remember to look at me and don’t respond unless I nod. I know those people quite well. Now breathe. And do try not to be a smartass on the stand.”

“I never understood why they have been using the word “warlock” in such a position, since its original meaning is ‘oathbreaker’”

“That’s exactly the sort of comment you should avoid. Give me the papers and your coat. Shall we go?”

 

They went to the fireplace in the main room and used floo powder to go to the Ministry building. Eli pulled herself up and marched past the large fountain, where she could still see the bloodstains with her inner sight. They went to the lifts and headed to the dungeons. Dumbledore seated her at a bench near the doors to the courtroom.“Wait here until you’re called.” She sat on the bench, watching people passing by. She tried to meditate, but she was never very good at it and now it was impossible.  

Two elder witches in the plum colored robes and hat sat next to her. “Hello, dear,” said the taller of the two. “We’re old friends of Albus, he’s told us a lot about you over the years. We knew your father when he was here; everyone who knew him admired and respected him.”

“Except those who murdered him.”

“What do you know about that?”

“Come on, Beatrice, you know you can’t keep the truth from the Fey! I read your paper on inherent problems with decision making in groups, and how that affects the legal system, Captain. And your numbers on wrongful convictions embarrassed a lot of people in the Department.”

“You have more friends than you know, Captain, but we’re all trying to stay alive, too.” The witches went into the courtroom. Eli tried not to show impatience and fought the urge to pace the hallways as she waited.

 

“Calling Captain Eli le Fey,” said the bailiff, and the doors opened. Eli marched into the room, took three strides, then stopped, standing at attention. “Please be seated.” She sat in the chair next to the Chief Warlock’s raised desk. She looked around the room, directly at assembled wizards, some of whom averted their eyes and would not meet her gaze. “Do you attest that you will speak only the truth?”

“I so affirm”

“Would you introduce yourself and tell the court how you know the defendant?”

“My name is Eli le Fey. I currently hold the rank of Captain in the Faerie Army, attached to the White Tigers of the West Guardian Force, assigned to Tibet. I have known Severus Snape since I was 13 years old, in 1973 when I met him and his mother in Diagon Alley. My father, Takeshi Morgan, knew his mother, the former Eileen Prince, from their days together at Hogwart’s, and had worked with Tobias Snape as a musician. My father renewed his friendship with the Snapes, and Severus and I became friends at Hogwart’s. He helped me academically, especially with potions. I could not have gotten NEWTs without his assistance.”

“In your final year, did your relationship change?”

“My family had decided to adopt Severus into the family, for business purposes. My older sister Jeanne-Marie le Fey is heir to Hillgate Farm. Because of the current legal situation between the Fey and the Ministry, we need a Terran to represent our interests, so she adopted him as a younger brother. He and I have equal shares in the estate.”

“Were there any other changes in your relationship that year?”

Eli sat up even straighter in her chair. “Yes, I initiated sexual contact a few months before I shipped out—no one wants to go to war a virgin—and he was the only male I trusted. Most people don’t want to be emotionally involved with soldiers because we have to move around a great deal, and we are in a high risk profession. It’s necessary to have some contacts with the normal world to help avoid battle madness. You have to remember who you are, and only someone not there with you at the front can do that.”

A voice rang out from the seats. “Excuse me, Captain, but doesn’t that make you guilty of incest?”

Eli looked at the stout woman, on whom the robes and hat looked ridiculous, and raised an eyebrow. Dumbledore turned to the woman and said, “Miss Umbridge, one might think so if one had no understanding of the laws concerning adoption and incest. This is settled Japanese law, similar to laws in Rome and other nations throughout history; adoption for financial and business purposes is common. There is no consanguinity, thus there can be no incest.’

He turned back to Eli. “Did you correspond with Mr Snape while you were deployed?”

“Yes, I did. I had to have an outlet for the feelings I couldn’t share with anyone else.” She took a deep breath. “Unless you’ve been there, you can’t know what it’s like to face daemons and kill them, watch your comrades die, see the civilian victims; the creatures are the worst, all crying out, ‘why did they do this to me’ . . . you can’t talk about your fears, your anger, your despair with the other soldiers, you can’t burden your family or most of your friends, because most people just don’t want to know what goes on, they can’t handle it. The only one I could trust was Severus. In those letters, I poured out my guts. I wrote it all out and it saved me, words have that power.” She looked down. “Civilians think the worst fate is getting killed. Dying is easy. What terrifies you is the fear you’ll do something wrong, or show cowardice, and someone else will die because of you. Or that you’ll kill a noncombatant. That you will do something dishonorable and disgrace yourself and the unit. I don’t know how to describe what it’s like to be an empath and be surrounded by pain and death for prolonged periods. It can be soul destroying.

“He wrote back to me, about my father, about the times we’d had, he’d send me music from bands I liked, and pictures of places we’d been. He even put chocolate frogs in the letter for my horse. He told me stories that made me laugh. He kept me in touch with who I was, so that the insanity I was stuck in didn’t destroy me. That first year his letters kept me going. It wasn’t until later that he wrote about how he may have misjudged the people he was associating with. My Terran friends and relatives had not kept me informed about the Death Eaters and what they were doing; I really had no idea of what was happening over here. I was a bit pre-occupied, you see, and they didn’t want to distract or distress me.

“For most of my time at Hogwart’s I was a day student, and didn’t socialize much, since I was busy keeping up with my studies in Avalon. What friends I had at school were aware of my feelings about inbreeding within the community so they never discussed the issue with me once I made my opinions and research available. I hadn’t been interested in the gossip in school about this group; they were Unclear on the Concept, as I saw it. The mania for ‘pure’ bloodlines was so illogical, so clearly irrational, I didn’t think the movement could sustain itself, let alone grow to be as big a danger as it was, or is. I don’t know why Severus, who is himself a half blood, would join up with that group, but then, its leader is also a half blood. It strikes me as tragically ironic that the same philosophy of racial purity was used in the last major Muggle war by the losing side, so to claim superiority to Muggles when borrowing some of their most discredited rhetoric doesn’t make a lot of sense. I suppose it is an effect of the Normal Self Serving Bias that is at the root of the need to feel better than others, without cause. It’s an inherent flaw in the minds of most Terrans. The systematic imposition of apartheid between Muggle and Magi contributes to this problem, in my opinion.* Here are some references.” She waved her hand an a list of publications scrolled down on the wall behind Albus’s desk. “I mean, you keep them out of your world, then you shouldn’t be too surprised when this forced separation causes problems. It helps understanding to be mindful of one’s limitations and biases.

“I was surprised to see how much support they got within the Ministry. I can understand why some may have gone along with them, we all need something to believe in when things don’t seem to be going the way they should. The psychohistory of this realm shows a repeating pattern of power surges, abuse of authority, and perfectly nice people running amok in mobs, following the lead of a charismatic leader straight to perdition. People don’t like to admit they’ve made a mistake, and will cover for those they feel are part of their clan, and that’s why conflicts turn into conflagrations. It’s easier to go along to get along, and it’s all but impossible to criticize the members of your group in times of conflict, because that will be seen a treason. In matters of extenuation and mitigation, consider that the Death Eaters were using the Imperious Curse, and murdering anyone who attempted to leave.

“They didn’t start out with stated goals of murder and torture, didn’t say they wanted to enslave and destroy the world, they targeted those whom the mainstream,” she said, gazing at the assembled Magi, “rejected, who of course were more than willing to listen to a false prophet. Once the first lie was accepted, that Muggles are inferior to Wizards, and the insanity, the megalomania of the movement soon got out of control, as it always does in these cases.”

  
An ancient wizard said, “Captain le Fey, do you trust Severus Snape?”

“I trust Severus Snape unconditionally. Both sides of my family trust him, my horse trusts him, even the unicorns in Faerie trust him. The Triad, the High Priestess, the Chief Druid, Head Ovate, all say he is among the most gifted of Terran Magi. I can understand why he was recruited for this organization but I do not believe he agrees with the methods and goals of its leader and some of his followers. Not everyone who was swept up in that movement is deserving of punishment, and many wish to redeem themselves. I would hope that those here keep that in mind when they sit in judgment of others.”

  
“Captain le Fey, could you explain your comment about the Faerie unicorns?”

“There are a lot of unicorns in Faerie; it’s part of our mythos that the first Faerie to find the realm were led there by unicorns. The herds winter near Avalon, and we enjoy riding out to see them. We bring honey cakes, apples and water from the Spring for them, and it’s considered good fortune if one of them eats with you. Severus and I rode out to see them one day, after the foals had been born and they were getting ready to go back to the mountain forests. I took a picture of that day with me.”

Albus picked up one of the pictures on the table he had removed from the dispatch case. “This picture?”

“Yes. It was to remind me what I was fighting for. To remind me of happy times. I know that people can change, that they can be different from what they seem to be, but I believe in unicorns, and they would not tolerate an unclean soul.” Albus waved his wand over the picture and a projection of it grew on the wall. It showed Severus sitting on a blanket, with a jet black foal curled up next to him, nuzzling his face, while the foal’s mother ate a cake from his hand. “The unicorns greeted him like a long lost friend,” Eli said.

“Could you explain what you meant by ‘mania’ for pureblood’ comment?”

“Relevance? This hearing is about Severus Snape, not my observations and opinions”

“I’ll allow the question,”

“In Terrans, magical ability does not “breed true” as evidenced by the fact that “Muggles” do produce witches and wizards, and ‘purebloods’ often produce ‘squibs’ with no magical ability. The hypothesis we have is that magical ability is recessive in Terrans, unlike the Fey, or the Vanir, where it’s dominant and is passed by the mother. More research is needed. However, due to magical apartheid which lead to social isolation of Terran wizardry, as well as prejudice against Muggleborns and Half Bloods, the gene pool has been diminishing over the centuries. The low inbreeding coefficient of Terrans, a result of the near die-off of the species about six thousand ago during dramatic climatic change, [you’re welcome, (this refers to the historical record that reflects it was the Fey, and the Vanir, who taught Terrans magic to survive an ice age which nearly caused the extinction of Homo Sapiens, a theory that Muggles have corroborated with their research into DNA)] means that it doesn’t take long for genetic problems to emerge in small breeding populations. The first sign of genetic degradation due to inbreeding is cognitive impairment and behavioral anomalies, which I believe were adequately demonstrated by some of the Death Eaters. It might have been a good use of resources to have provided treatment for those individuals before they became so destructive. The social isolation increased the zealotry of some of the followers, and that led to paranoia, so that those who defected were murdered. It’s not like this pattern of behavior hasn’t been observed and documented in both Muggle and Wizarding worlds in this realm, over and over in history. I’ve published papers, in both realms, here are the references.” She waved her hand and a list of publications scrolled down in illuminated letters on the wall. “Your expertise in psychohistory is noted, Captain.”

“Tell me, Captain le Fey,” said Umbridge, “Why should we believe that your letters are so … innocent? Shouldn’t we be allowed to judge for ourselves?”

Eli fixed the woman with a look from beneath lowered lids and said, “Are you questioning my veracity?”

Umbridge smiled unctuously. “Shouldn’t I?”

The eldest witch in the congregation said, “I don’t think we are questioning your veracity, Captain. Your people’s unwillingness to lie for any reason is well known.”

Dumbledore said, “With the permission of Captain le Fey and Severus Snape, I have read his letters to her, and he read her letters to him aloud to me. I can also attest that there are no discussions of Death Eaters, of the Ministry, and have no bearing whatsoever on the matters under investigation. Do you question my veracity, Miss Umbridge?

  
“Are there any further questions? There will be a 15 minute recess and the defendant will be available for questions.”

Eli walked out of the room, followed by Albus. “You’ll have to wait here in the hall while Severus is being questioned, and then they will make their decision. You did well.”

A heavy door slammed. Eli looked down the hall, and saw Severus walking towards the hearing room, flanked by guards. Their eyes met. Albus joined him. _[Be strong, my prince, you shall be free soon]._ She sat at the bench, folded her hands, and waited as the time passed entirely too slowly.

From the transcript:  
“In summation, simply being a member of a group or organization that has members who have committed criminal acts is not a crime. There is no evidence that Severus Snape murdered anyone, or that he used any forbidden magic. The case against him is merely the uncorroborated accusation of Igor Karkaroff, who accused many, who was himself accused by many others, in order to save himself. You must decide whose testimony is most compelling. ”

Eventually the door opened. Albus and Severus were smiling. Severus was wearing the trench coat over the prison uniform. Eli leaped to her feet and strode over to Severus, grasping both his hands. “Thank you, Albus. Let’s get out of this place.”

They walked down the hall. The crowd parted to allow them to leave quickly, and they got on the first lift, then used Floo Powder to return to the Leaky Cauldron, since the floo in the Whitehall flat the Morgan clan used in the City blocked any connection from the Ministry. Albus went with them to the flat, which was part of a King Edgar era palace, owned by a Wizarding family that fell upon hard times after the Laws went into effect. The building was chopped into flats, run by a landlady and a family of house elves descended from the original owners and elves. Food was waiting for them on the table and the bathtub was full of hot water and herbs.  

"Go wash the stink of prison off you and let me throw that prison uniform away," Eli said.  She turned on the music system.   

“You must have been pretty sure of the verdict,” Severus said.

“Oh, the Crone said you would not be convicted, since there are those higher up in the Ministry who don’t want their connections to Riddle revealed, which would happen if they looked too closely and more people did like Karkaroff and turned in everyone else… and there was always Plan B.”

“Plan B?”

“Yup, me and my top soldiers bust you out of Azkaban. It would mean that both of us would have to live in Faerie forever, and never come back to this realm. And it would set back treaty negotiations which aren’t going anywhere anyway. You wouldn’t have to worry about a job, since the College of Druids would take you in a heartbeat.”

“If it’s a job you’re interested in, I can offer you the post of Potions Master, since Horace left so quickly, I haven’t been able to find anyone to replace him. You can give me your answer tomorrow. I must return … so glad to see you free, Severus.”

“Just a minute, Albus," Eli said. “But first, a toast to freedom.”

She opened a green bottle and poured out three large shots in crystal chalices. She handed one to Severus, and he reached out to take it and the bottom of the mark on his arm was revealed. He yanked down his sleeve, and turned red. “I know about the mark, Severus. Just like I knew about the bruises when we were young. To freedom, may you never lose it, my prince. Drink.”

They downed the clear liquid. “What is that?” Severus sputtered.

“Mother’s Own Applejack,” said Eli. “She thought it would help you. Now go get cleaned up.” 

She hugged Albus.  "Thank you for saving him."

 "Bring him by the school tomorrow afternoon, dear."  

Severus emerged a short time later, and sat down to eat. She poured out more applejack for both of them. “We’ve got a lot to talk about, a lot of things to do, and I’ve got only 36 more hours before I have to report back. Tomorrow morning we have to go to the hospital to see Alice and Frank. Rafaela is working there now as a healer. It’s really bad. Living death. Who cursed them?”

“Bellatrix le vz Strange.”

“That one. I will never understand why the Ministry allows so many clearly dangerously warped wizards and witches to run free until they do something that can’t be fixed and all the inbreeding over the centuries hasn’t helped. From all I’ve heard about that creature, she was always barking mad. She’s the looniest of the Blacks and that’s saying a lot. It’s like the Ministry prefers to pretend there is no such thing as mental illness and ignores all the damage … like Riddle’s mother, that poor, demented thing. No wonder he turned out so bad; in utero he absorbed so much misery and pain, then never formed any attachments to anyone or anything. Imagine having a soul so degraded and foul.

“Speaking of parents, your father was convinced by Older Sister, Grandfather and Grandmother Morgan, to relocate permanently to Vancouver . We gave him enough money to buy a bar and start his own band, there's a great local music scene there and good audience for blues. Tobias Snape will be a local star until he drinks himself to death. He didn’t even ask about you. The house is in your name now, the paperwork is at Great Grandmother’s. Your mother wishes you well and will see you when the time is right.”

“I hope she starts dancing again and remembers her magic.”

“Mother finally had an opening in her Terran relocation program for abused witches, and there was concern for your parent’s safety because of what you were doing. That creep Karkaroff isn’t above hurting someone’s family to get back at them. What did you do to make him hate you so much, Severus? Or is he just like that to everyone?”

“He’s like that to everyone.”

 

She got up and refilled the chalices. “Drink up. It’s medicinal. It will help settle your stomach and ease your mind. You’ve been through a lot of trauma and you need some healing. You hold everything in, and it’s not the best coping mechanism, you’ve got survivor’s guilt. Yes, you fucked up, but not everything is your fault.” She cleared the table, put the tray and the garbage can containing the prison uniform in the hall, and waved her wand to summon the staff, closed and locked the door. “’Fasten your seatbelts.’” Severus refilled their glasses.

She stood over him and took his head in both hands, fingers splayed to touch various points on his skull. “You’re about done in, but your brain is racing. You’re in psychogenic shock, my prince, you’ve been in a bad place for too long and you need to stand down. You’re safe now. You can let it out; it’s not like you can hide anything from me anyway. Go get in bed now.  You must rest.'

They went to the corner bedroom and he lay down.   She sat on a chaise at the window overlooking the courtyard. 

“What was in that stuff?”

“I dunno; ask Mother next time you see her.”

He closed his eyes. “this morning, when I woke up, I wondered if I would spend the rest of my life at Azkaban. And then, you appeared at the trial, now I am free, I have a job, I have my own property . . . it’s still not real to me. I’ve been saved, even though I don’t deserve this.” He curled up in a ball, put his hands over his face, and began to sob. “She’s dead,” he choked out in an anguished whisper, “and it was my fault, I didn’t save her, I told him about the prophecy. What is wrong with me that I ever did such a thing. I couldn’t protect her.”

Eli cried silently into a handkerchief. When his sobs had subsided she went to him and wiped his face gently. He looked at her. “Are you crying for me?”

“I’ve told you before. I feel what you’re feeling, I share your sorrow. I know what she meant to you; she’s a big part of you, maybe the best part of you. You are not thinking clearly. You did not kill her. You did all you could to save her. She chose to save her child. That child needs protectors, and now you are in a position to help him. You will be needed to guard him when he comes to Hogwart’s.”

"The Crone and Firenze have been keeping me informed of what’s happening to you. Albus filled me in on some details, and Great Grandmother had all the background stories. They didn’t tell me anything until about a month ago, when we had kicked the daemon out of the mountains. They just moved to the other side, to Afghanistan, Kashmir, that region. We do not get involved with their affairs. I pity the daemon who tries to possess the minds of those addlepated religious nutters. How can you drive the insane crazy? So they will be bogged down there for some time. They destroyed the realm they have and feel it is acceptable to appropriate inhabited realms. All we can do is fortify existing barriers, upgrade our weaponry and destroy any of their portals. But I think in some ways, Riddle is worse than a daemon. He betrayed his own species, his friends, all those who helped him, just a toxic black hole of a being. That’s why he killed her, he had to destroy her because she was everything he is not. And his own magic came back to almost destroy him because of her.”

“I see her face when I fall asleep, when I wake up and realize she’s dead … I don’t know if I’m mad or not.”

“No, you loved her madly, but you have to stop thinking you are in any way to blame for what happened to her. You did not kill her. Riddle did. He would have found out about the prophecy, you weren’t the only one who knew, or the only one eavesdropping, you aren’t the only one he used. He chose to murder, and was horribly sadistic in his method, you realize he killed her in part to demonstrate his control over you, and to try and destroy your will, as well as satisfy his sickness; his mother abandoned him, he hates all mothers. She made her choices; she chose James Potter over you, she chose her son’s life over her own. You have to respect the choices she made, if you truly loved her, if I understand how you mean that word. she was a truly lovely and remarkable person, wasn’t she? You have to remember her when she was happy, don’t dwell on her last moments, betrayed by her friends, having to watch her beloved die. She died like a samurai, in a blaze of courage, protecting her son, She stopped him, temporarily at least. Now her son needs all the help he can get. Don’t you see? She saved both of you with her sacrifice, because you would have gone along until it was too late to save you; it took her death to wake you up. So if you feel you failed, you can redeem yourself by protecting her son. Don’t think you’ll ever be over this, either. All you can do is move on somehow.”

“How do you do that?”

“Damned if I know how, you just do. You have a lot more tears to cry and bad dreams to come, but for tonight I can help you, if you’ll let me.”

“Please”

She took out her athame, held it to his forehead, while she recited a spell in the ancient language. “now go to sleep, my prince.” She went into the bathroom and shut the door. When she came out, Severus was asleep in the bed. She poured the remainder of the bottle into a chalice, pulled a chair in front of the fire, waved her hands to put out the lights, and spent the next hour sipping the drink and staring into the fire.

Severus woke before dawn. He was disoriented at first and it took a moment to remember where he was. Eli was asleep in the chair, underneath the trench coat. As he watched her, she opened her eyes. “Good morning, Eli. I didn’t mean to steal your bed!”

“oh, don’t worry, it’s a comfy chair, I’m used to worse. You look much better than you did yesterday.”

“Thank you … I dreamed of her, when we were children, she told me she was at peace now with James, and to listen to you and Albus, and look out for Harry.”

“So you have your orders, Severus. You have a mission. See that you do it to the best of your ability.'

"Where is the cat?  I took her to Older Sister, I didn't know what else to do."

"Older Sister took her to Avalon, and she's living with your mother.  Next time you're there, I'm sure she'd like to see you.  That was so considerate; you can be sure Albus would have left the poor beastie to die alone."  

Severus thought of the little cat, a tortoiseshell stray who Lily had adopted when she saw her scavenging out of a garbage can.  The cat had been shivering in terror, yet was trying to comfort Harry in his crib.  When the Order members showed up, Severus had picked up the cat and departed quickly.  He could feel the animal's emotions, the terror and rage she felt when Riddle appeared.  

She stretched and got to her feet. “I will do what I can to help you, Severus. The war in Tibet is winding down, we’re patrolling, restoring, and now the main mission is training replacements. So I’ll be able to get leave. We want to help you. I want payback on my father’s murderers.”

“What about the treaty negotiations?”

“Fuck that shit.”

“You weren’t joking about breaking me out of Azkaban, were you?”

“Nope. But the Crone said it wouldn’t come to that. This whole investigation is a bigger joke than the ‘investigation’ into Father’s death. Everybody’s covering their own asses and letting the perps go. A few of the craziest, who can’t come up with a decent alibi, will get sent away. It’s a long way from over. This is just ‘the end of the beginning,’ if you will.” She moved the chair back to its original position in the room.

As she walked by, Severus caught her wrist and pulled her to him. “Thank you for everything, Eli.”

“I’m so glad to have you back, and now Albus can keep an eye on you for me so I won’t have to worry.” She yawned, and put her head on his shoulder. “It’s been a long time since I held you,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. They sat in silence, eyes closed, until a chime sounded, reminding her of the time and her appointment with Rafaela.  They dressed in their "Muggle" clothes and set off on foot.  

They were met in the lobby by Rafaela and taken to the ward where Alice and Frank Longbottom were residents. “Augusta Longbottom is here now. She brought Neville.” They entered the ward and were led to the corner, which was curtained off. Mrs Longbottom was sitting in a chair between the two beds, reading the Daily Prophet aloud. She looked up when they appeared. “I don’t believe my eyes, Eli le Fey, you’re still alive, and Severus Snape, you’re not in Azkaban.”

Eli bowed deeply. “Look how big he’s gotten, I haven’t seen him since …”. Eli walked over to Alice and looked into her eyes. Alice smiled at her. Eli smiled back. “Hello, Alice.”

Rafaela asked, “Can you do that thing where you touch her mind?”

“I’ll try.” Eli touched Alice’s 3rd eye with her finger. Her brows knitted. She took both hands and touched the woman’s head gently. Her smile faded completely. She caught Rafaela’s eye. “Be right back,” she said.

She and Rafaela walked out of the ward into the staff room. “I don’t know how to tell you this. That’s some kind of daemonic mind control spell on them. I thought there weren’t any daemons here? That’s what the Ministry says.”

“Are you sure?”

“Am I sure? Rafaela, where do you think I’ve been lately? I can recognize the signs. You don’t have any treatments or potions to cure them, you know all Faerie magic is banned here. I just hope this is an isolated case. The person who cast the spell is insane enough to tap into that power, or maybe she’s mad enough not to know what she’s done. There are a few healers on Torayama who can treat daemonic mind infections, but I don’t think the Ministry would let them travel. Tears formed in her eyes. “She’s in there, she’s trapped, and it’s so cold and lonely where she is.”

They went back to the ward, and Eli sat with Augusta, discussing the news. Neville was sitting between Alice and Severus, babbling happily at both. They all had tea together, then Augusta gathered up Neville to leave. “Snape, at least you have the decency to cry about what your ‘friends’ did. le Fey, best of luck to you. You’ll need it.” Rafaela went with her.

Eli bent over Alice and kissed her forehead. Alice’s eyes opened wide. “Eli?” she whispered. “Help me, I’m lost”

“I know, but you are safe, Alice, we will find you.” The contact faded and the voice was silenced. Rafaela returned.

“I told Mrs Longbottom what you told me. I’ll be in contact with some of the healers on Torayama, maybe they can help us find a cure. She’s responding to you so please come back when you can. There are a lot of Faerie sympathizers here.” “If only I could get them to Avalon.”

Eli and Severus walked to King’s Cross Station to catch the afternoon local train to Hogsmeade. Eli led him to the last coach, in the last compartment, shut the door and pulled the curtain shut. “I want you all to myself for a little while longer,” Eli said. “I love train rides.”

“It seems so very long ago we rode this train together the first time. Would you have believed what the future held for us?”

“Are you kidding me? I don’t believe it myself sometimes. Especially now.”

“We thought we had all the answers, didn’t we?”

“If I’d’ve known what was going to happen, I might never have left Avalon.”

“Not even for me? You know, you never did tell me why you projected ‘you’re real’ when you first saw me.” She looked out the window for a few moments.

“When I was a girl I started to have dreams, nothing unusual with my kind, the dreams of childhood are prophetic. The dreams all involved a Terran prince, and I knew he needed help, because everyone around him was hurting him and he would die. I had to find him but I didn’t know where he was. I kept getting closer and I finally could see him … he couldn’t hear me shouting, he didn’t see me .. I kept chasing him. It got so I was scared to go to sleep, and I told my mother about the dreams. She took me to the Priestess who told me not to be afraid, to keep seeking my prince. Father said it sounded like I was a samurai at heart and the prince was the lord I was to serve and protect. I finally got close enough to the prince to talk to him, and he called me by name. He said I should go back, that I would destroy myself trying to save him. I told him I would destroy myself if I did not save him, and it was my sworn duty to be his protector, because he was the prince of Avalon. Even though he was Terran, he was my prince. When I was standing in front of Evander’s, I heard my father say the word ‘prince’ and I turned and looked right into your eyes. You were the prince I’d been chasing all those years. Mother knew; she sent me a message to keep my mouth shut and not say anything to you about the dreams, that you wouldn’t understand.”

“So that first visit to Avalon, everyone was seeing if I filled the prophecy?”

“Something like that.”

“Did I pass?” “With flying colors, my prince.”

Just then the trolley came by, and Eli got up to buy some food, with a handful of chocolate frogs she gave Severus. “Give ‘em to Yojimbo. He’s going to be happy to see you, that horse adores you.”

“At least he wants me around,”

“what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Why wouldn’t you touch me last night? It’s the mark, isn’t it?”

“Severus, no! Don’t think that way! You wanted the dream, didn’t you? I couldn’t risk touching you, because I can invade your dreams inadvertently; I’ve wandered in your dreams before but I always leave right away -- I am not a voyeur -- and I didn’t want to interfere. It wasn’t just a dream. You were in contact with her. It was Necromancy. She wanted to talk to you. She and Potter tracked me down in Tibet last Samhain to visit me. The Crone set it up and taught me the spell.” Eli looked down at her hands. In a soft voice, she said, “I wish I had gotten to know her.”

Severus leaned back in his seat and shut his eyes. An uncomfortable silence lasted for a few minutes.  Eli sighed.  “Severus, when are you going to accept that we accept you, I know all your secrets and I accept you."

"I don't know why I get like this sometimes."

"You’re not over all the shit that happened to you, so you’re reverting to your childhood coping skills, you push everyone away and go hide.” She reached out and held both of his hands in hers. “You can’t get out of a bond with a Faerie. You can’t get rid of me.”

“That should frighten me but it doesn’t.

He looked out the window. “I don’t know why I ever threw in with the Death Eaters. I don’t know what I was thinking. I was mad at everyone … first Takeshi died, then you went away … that was a horrible day, I was sure the next time I saw you, if I ever did, it would be at your funeral. I was mad at you, for leaving me … until you wrote to me.”

“That’s not all, is it?” She moved so that she was inches from his face, staring into his eyes. “Don’t lie to me.”

“I got the idea that you were involved with someone else, another soldier. Or maybe someone gave me the idea.”

“It happens. Some do, some don’t. I don’t, that’s one reason why I got promoted so quickly. Fraternization destroys command authority.” She stroked his cheek. “Besides, why would I add more complications to my life? You’re quite enough drama for me.”

"I’m ashamed of how gullible I was, how hopelessly stupid, how I let myself go along with that group.”

“You made a mistake, you’re still quite young, and you weren’t the only one who got swept away with Riddle’s insanity. Everyone has their stupid moments, the trick is not to repeat, to learn and to try and correct any harm done. As the sensei says, the most powerful lesson is Becoming One With The Floor." she sighed.  I’m grateful that they didn’t read those letters in court. I was so green, so scared I was brave because my brain overloaded and I was on automatic pilot for the first month.”

“They were painful to read. I remember when I got the first letter, after the battle for the lake. I was at Spinner’s End feeling so very sorry for myself, how everyone had abandoned me and I didn’t like the people I was associating with. My mother was in one of her worst depressions, didn't want me around her in the London flat,  and my father was in his usual state. The raven had been injured in a blast of some sort, but still brought the letter.  I called in Older Sister and she came over and treated the bird and tore into me like only she can. Asked me what did I think I was doing, how everyone was afraid that I would end up dead or worse. How everyone cried for me when they found out where I’d been, who I’d been associating with. I’ve never seen her that angry. She ordered me to take care of the bird and write a letter back to you and left, she said, so she wouldn’t be tempted to blast me out of this realm forever, she’d rather see me dead than dishonored."

"So I took care of the bird and wrote the first letter.”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t write back.”

“It was the only way I could get rid of the raven. Older Sister said she wouldn’t go back without one. The bloody bird watched me write it. She followed me everywhere. That was the routine. She would show up with your latest letter and wouldn’t go without one. So I began to write the letters ahead of time, and that made me think about you, about me, about life in general, I guess. I couldn’t stay mad at you, knowing what you were going through. I thought a lot about the talks we had, about magic, about honor, about duty, and I began to realize how wrong I’d been. And it made me sick, what they were doing, the cruelty, Then when he said he would kill all of the Potters, I went to Albus.”

“Yes, I know. He told me enough so I could figure out the rest.”

“Tell me, Eli, what would you have done had I not returned from the Dark Lord?”

She looked at him, the way a tiger looks at a wounded deer. “Do you have to ask? With all we have taught you, I would not be allowed to let you live. You knew that when you took the Unbreakable Vow. You came close. Had you not turned, Riddle would prevail, and the fallout would destroy what’s left of the Magi, as well as most of the ‘Muggle’ world. I looked into the Scrying Pool, Severus, I saw. We can’t allow that. You’re just too powerful.” She looked down at her hands. “I would have been responsible for creating a monster, and it would be my duty to eliminate the problem, we always try to clean up our own messes. I couldn’t bear to see you in thrall to a daemon. I would, of course, forfeit my life as well. It’s the law.”

“I know,” he said in a very quiet voice. “I thought about how you would have reacted to watching Riddle use torture. How you would have risen up in righteous wrath, called down a conflagration, and I had to sit there and watch, do nothing, and pretend I approved. I had to keep my promise to Albus. They were causing pain for their own enjoyment, using torture for some perverse pleasure, I couldn’t assimilate. But I couldn’t get out. I felt so used, so stupid, and I always thought I was so smart.”

“We are still too young to know how daft we are. It just seems that right now, we don’t have enough good role models around to pull us out of trouble. I guess all we can do is learn from our mistakes. It’s better to learn from someone else’s mistake and not do it yourself, though.

“You know we Fey can’t handle espionage, and scrying alone is not enough to get the most accurate information. So we turn a lot of Terrans. We’re not opposed to using double agents. In fact, it makes a lot more sense to operate with those in the enemy camp who are disillusioned. People don’t turn on their group if they feel good about the group and themselves. But this mess, it’s so confusing, just about impossible to know who’s on what side and who the good guys are, if there are any good guys. The problem seems to be that the Ministry just won’t face up to certain Inconvenient Truths and thus the same mistakes keep getting made, over and over. So rest assured, we approve of what you’re doing and want to help you and will continue to help you now that you’ve shown your true colors to me. Riddle will be back, it’s ‘written in the stars’ after all. Too bad the Centaurs are so marginalized because Firenze knew back when we first met him. Remember the prophecy? I am the shield of the Prince in Black. You, of course, are the Prince, Albus the White Wizard. Lily’s son is the sword both guard until it’s needed. He’s not the only weapon, and there will be many heroes and many deaths. Pointless and stupid, but if Terrans won’t listen to the prophets, whose fault is it? I think that’s why the Ministry hates Centaurs, because they are always right and they can be quite smug about saying ‘I told you so.’

“I wonder sometimes if you weren’t recruited by the Eaters because of your connection to my father and me. I mean, Malfoy, that inbred Black clan and le Stranges hated my father and really didn’t much care for me, either. Called us both Muggle Loving Pinkstone Symps. Wanted to keep you hostage so they could be sure I wouldn’t work for the Order.”

“I thought about that when I was in prison, wondering why I had ever joined them, and I realized they came after me, and my memory gets a bit hazy for a while. Could be they hit me with a spell or used a potion I couldn’t detect.”

“I guess they didn’t get the news, that my father and I have no respect for the Ministry at all and couldn’t and wouldn’t compromise Faerie neutrality by associating with the Order. The Ministry can’t be trusted, they have consistently messed things up as long as they’ve been around. You can’t argue with historical fact, so they just ignore it and burn you at the stake for a heretic if you point it out.”

Severus cut his eyes up to her. “Malfoy said some things to le Strange when he thought I couldn’t hear him. They were laughing about how they set up the ‘hit’ on Takeshi. Got some of the Unspeakables to do it.” He buried his face in his hands. “Umbridge was in on it, so were most of the Aurors who knew what was in his report.” He shook his head. “A classic case of ‘if only I knew then what I know now. By then they were already killing defectors. Tell me, what would you have done if they had killed me?”

  
She smiled. “I would do what the Ministry should have done long ago and destroyed them. It would have been brutal, short, and nasty. And the Terrans would find out just what we can do when we get pissed off. Go commando on ‘em and take ‘em all down on a suicide mission. The Ministry could hardly object to our destroying the enemy they helped to create, it wouldn’t look good.”

“You could destroy all of his supporters, which would eliminate his power, but he might not be so easy to kill, Eli. Do you know what a Horcrux is?” “No, I’m not familiar with that word.” “Let me explain.”

Severus briefly outlined the process to a horrified Eli. “This is worse than I thought … how did he figure out that … doesn’t he know what he’s done? HE HAS DESTROYED HIS SOUL. To achieve immortality, he killed the only thing immortal he has. Doesn’t he know? Immortality without a soul, without a body that can maintain its integrity. The meat puppet can’t be kept alive forever, how fucking STUPID can he be? Oh, no … this is what happens when you isolate magic, it gets distorted, it gets misused, and it always backfires on the one arrogant enough to try messing with things that are fine they way they are … WHY didn’t Albus tell the Crone? Did Riddle, did any of you, even know that the soul can be destroyed, and this is one of the only ways to do it?”

“Maybe he doesn’t believe he has a soul.”

“HAD a soul. It’s gone now. It means he will never be able to work off his karmic debt. It means if the Horcruxes are destroyed, when the body he has now is gone, when all life force has left its cells, he will be no longer. He will never reincarnate on any level. He can never reach nirvana. He feared death so much he tried to defeat it and so he can never return to life.”

“Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.” Severus muttered.

 “How could we have missed this? Horcruxes, it’s old magic, deadly magic, the sort of magic we didn’t have to ban because we thought no one would do it, well, no one on our side of the mists, and we didn’t think that any Terrans would be so deviant to perform that magic, ‘evidence of an abandoned and malignant heart’…we underestimated Riddle, just like Albus did. It’s ‘black hole magic,’ a poisoned spell that destroys the one who casts it and everyone near, a Doomsday Ritual. For someone who wants to live forever, Riddle sure does have a strong death wish. He doesn’t understand how he set himself up and failure is inevitable. He cannot succeed because it would destroy everything hewants to conquer, a most Pyrric victory. Things have to balance. Terrans never seem to get that.” She shuddered. “Existing without a soul, I can’t imagine how horrible that is.”

 

They were met at the station by the coach, driven by Nils. “Welcome home, Eli le Fey and Severus Snape,” he said. The house and stable building were lit up like for a festival. He was escorted by Older Sister and Great Grandmother to the seat of honor at the table, with Eli sitting on his left hand, Albus on his right. After dinner, Albus and Minerva excused themselves to return to Hogwarts, and the Morgan clan soon retired to their rooms.

Great Grandmother, Eli and Severus sat in front of the fire. “I’ll expect you for Sunday dinner every week, Severus. You’ll have to be brought up to speed on the estate duties. You’ll have to find a way to get some time to go to Faerie, because the Triad, the Druids, everyone who reads the stars and interpret the omens can see what’s coming, and we are just not ready, no one in the Ministry is willing to admit it. That dreadful Minister is a shameless craven, a cream faced loon … he is in over his head.”

“At least the war is mostly over and I’ll be right across the lake so you won’t have to worry so much about Eli and me.”

“Enjoy your time off, Eli, the boat’s coming for you at sunset tomorrow.”

“Good night, Great Grandmother.” They left and went to the loft.

 

Severus looked around him. “This is such a nice place, would you mind if I come here when you’re not around?”

“Of course not, Severus. I have a lot of books you can read, and you can correct my notes on potions, I should warn you, don’t touch the herbs, they are from Faerie, you know. Wouldn’t want you to get in trouble, wink wink. Now, show me your arm.” He flushed red, and rolled up his sleeve. She picked up his arm and held it next to her, tracing the mark with her finger. “This is a nasty bit of work. No wonder you’re so messed up. I have something that might help settle you down some. This is just a temporary fix.

 

She went to the bed and removed a wooden box from the bedside table drawer. Inside were colored crystals. “Take off your clothes and lie down.” He blushed again. “This is no time to be shy. If you like, you can do this for me, after I show you how it works.” She shook her head and turned down the lights, so that only the fire and a single votive candle lit the room. “I’ll take off my clothes, too,” she laughed.

  
“Now, close your eyes. You have to feel your chakras. Each color corresponds to the chakra, let’s begin with purple, the crown chakra. All I do is hold the crystal to the chakra, and it connects itself. Indigo for the third eye … blue for the throat chakra . .. green for the heart chakra … yellow for the solar plexus, orange for the belly, red for the base .. . now relax. Severus felt a not unpleasant tingling along his spine, and through the top of his head. He heard what sounded like a wind chime, with seven different notes. He wasn’t sure how much time passed as he drifted, colors flashing behind his lids. Eventually all of the notes sounded at once, then stopped, as did the lights. “You’re done! Your heart chakra took a long time to regenerate; you need more treatment, I’ll ask the healers in Avalon what to do for that.“

“I feel great. Your turn! What do I do?”

“Just hold the crystal to the chakra, the colored threads hold them in place.”

He picked up the purple crystal and held it to the top of her head. It lit up and purple filame1nts connected the crystal to Eli’s crown. He put each in place, and watched as a cocoon of colored lights enveloped her body, then abruptly stopped and the crystals went dark. Eli opened her eyes and picked up the crystals, replaced them in the box and laid back down. “Neat, huh?” He stared at her. She smiled at him, reached out, took a handful of his hair and pulled him down. “Your turn.”

Turn to Page 394

The next morning Eli and Severus rode over to Hogwart’s. Albus welcomed them into his office. “I’m afraid that your office and storeroom in a bit of a mess. You look so much better already, Severus,” he said. “When are you going back?”

“The boat is coming to pick Yojimbo and me up at sundown.”

“Then I won’t keep you. I’ll see you at Yule, Eli?”

“Of course. I get the High Holidays off unless there is active combat.”

 

As they left the castle, the Bloody Baron escorted them. Eli formally bowed to the ghost, who congratulated Severus on how well things worked out for him and whispered to Severus, “So someone finally tamed the Faerie.”

He shrugged. “Or maybe she tamed me.”

‘Lovely to see you again, Baron.”

They went to the horses, where Minerva was feeding them apples she had conjured. Eli smiled at her. “We’re on a first name basis now, Eli” she said.

“Great Grandmother says you can come over any time to ride the horses if you’d like.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Severus. Be well, Eli.”

 

They rode back to the farm, put the horses away, and went up to the loft. Eli flipped on the music, yanked off her boots, and began to pack her bag. She had everything ready to go in 15 minutes, then sat next to Severus on the chaise. “We’ve got five hours before the boat comes. Let me get your boots.” He led her to the bed and they lay down wrapped in each other’s arms.

“You can enter my dreams when we touch?”

“Yes. You’ve never done any work on the astral plane, have you? I can reach you that way, too. But on the astral plane I can control where I go, when we sleep together, I can’t.”

“When were you going to tell me this?”

“I wasn’t sure for a while and then I didn’t see you for so long. Now you know.”

“Can we try it?”

She looked in his eyes, picked up both his hands and said, “Do I have your permission to enter your mind? Will you allow me to contact you on the astral plane?”

“Yes.”

“Let me set the alarm; give me an hour to get ready for the boat.” She picked up an hourglass and tapped on the top to activate the timer.

“Allow me.” Severus touched her forehead with his wand, and she curled up on her left side and went to sleep. He put his arms around her and repeated the spell on himself.

 

Severus was standing near the cave entrance, while the mists swirled around him. He heard footsteps in the mists, and Eli appeared, wearing the soft white robes of a Druid. He noticed he was similarly clad. “There are some Mysteries that you cannot be allowed to remember when you leave the Dream Realm. Come with me. We go to Arthur’s Tomb.”

“How much will I remember when I wake up?”

“Only the walk there, but you will be able to return when you are dreaming.” They walked to the tomb, and the doors opened. “We are in a space where time has no meaning, between the realms of the living and the dead. When we leave, it will be as if we spent no time here.” Eli led him to the altar, which was made of polished white marble, and Severus saw Excalibur, in its scabbard.

Eli picked it up, and handed it to Severus. “I can’t draw it, the chimeras would not allow me to do so, since I am not its rightful owner. See if you can.” He did not hesitate and drew out Excalibur. The Faerie metal blade gleamed with its own light. "you are Arthur's heir, by direct male descent. The dormant gene was activated because your mother is a witch and her family had more than one 'faerie in the woodpile.' We have been waiting for you for a long time. For now, you must leave Excalibur here and I will bring it to you when you need it.".

The wake up chimed, Eli woke up, rubbed her eyes, kissed Severus on the forehead and got up, got dressed in her combat uniform. They took her bags and walked with Yojimbo to the dock. "That was something, dreaming together, and you were talking about astral projection?"

" I can find you easily enough because of our contact. You don’t have to be asleep, I can come to you awake. Just remember that no one else can see me, although there are a few magi who might sense my presence and hear me. I’m learning how to apparate from the plane, it’s a useful thing to learn.”

“Yes, it must be, you can see what you’re apparating into, no surprises.”

 

Great Grandmother, Grandmother and Grandfather, and Older Sister, came from the house carrying blankets to sit on. For the next half hour they ate and watched the sun descend behind Hogwart’s. Tabby packed a tote bag with food, “give it to poor Yojimbo, he gets so thin away from home.”

When the last neon strip of sun descended beneath the horizon the water in front of the dock boiled, and a three masted junk with azure blue sails, carved dragons in a double helix wrapped around the rear mast. The dragons blew gently into the sails and it gracefully drifted to the dock. Grandfather caught the mooring rope and tied it down. A gangway extended from the side of the boat. Yojimbo headed for the dock, and Severus grabbed her bags and brought them to the deck, where they were taken by two sailors to the hold. Eli took Severus’s hands in hers. “Remember, my prince, that you invited me to find you in your dreams. I will see you at the solstice, we will spend the longest night together.”

Grandmother and Grandfather boarded the junk. “Next stop, the Azure Dragon Naval Base on Torayama.” Eli turned and followed her horse into the hold. The dragons blew on the sail so the junk sailed to the center of the lake, then settled beneath the surface, leaving only ripples behind.

 

JeanneMarie walked with Severus back to the loft. She pulled a small device out of her Hermes bag, and told him to stand up straight and hold out his arms. She ran the device up and down his body. “I just took your measurements, and I will have some proper robes made up for you in Paris. I’m stopping by Rue Magique and there is a wonderful tailor who can make them. I’ll have them shipped to your office as soon as possible. No younger brother of mine will teach without a proper wardrobe! I think all black, you look devastating in all black." She tilted her head and scanned him. "Get your hair trimmed, the ends are ragged.”

Severus changed the subject. “How do you like teaching at Beauxbaton’s?”

“It’s delightful; so beautiful, the woods are full of all magical creatures great and small. You should see the team they have to pull their coach. Winged palominos as large as elephants; quite lovely but more than most people can handle. Such power, they say they are descended from the horses that pulled Apollo’s sun chariot, they shine like gold. The riding academy is better than the Spanish School in Vienna.”

“How is Secretariat?” “He loves it there, so many students who make a huge fuss about him and feed him sweets. I’m writing a book, the texts on magical creatures tend to lack quite a bit of usable information. I just don’t have much time for the farm, and Great Grandmother could use some help around here.” She smiled at him. “You knew there would be strings attached to becoming my younger brother, I will work you like a rented mule. I must leave; I’m spending the night in Paris and then back to work. You will be an excellent teacher.” She hugged him. “I am so glad you and Eli are both safe.”

She departed, and Severus looked around him. He went over to the wardrobe, opened it and fumbled through the dresses to the green velvet dress. He fondled the material, held it to his face for a time, then closed the wardrobe and went to the bookcase, found the texts on astral plain navigation, and brought them to the bed.

 

By the time Eli’s astral body appeared, he was asleep. Eli floated above his body, hovered, then sunk into him and disappeared. When she appeared in his dream, she was surprised to see herself wearing the green velvet dress. “Did you do this?” she asked, picking up the train.

“Would you like to go dancing?”

“Why not?”

He waved his arms, and the scene shifted to the ballroom at ______ Palace. An orchestra was playing in the gallery. “I don’t have to teach you to dance, in my dreams you can dance.”

“You’re very good at lucid dreaming. Astral projection should be easy for you. And before I forget, remember we are on opposite sides of the realm, and I can do this only during my rest periods … you have to leave your body somewhere safe and it’s best to do it when you’re lying down in bed. This is so much better than letters. You do remember how to use the mirrors to contact Emerald and the Crone?”

He nodded. “Shut up and dance, Eli. This is my dream.”

They danced until Eli announced she had to wake up and get to work. “I’ve got to take a unit through advanced training, and I can’t leave them alone until we’re done. They promoted me again. I’m a lieutenant colonel now, they skipped major because we’re still so short of upper level officers, the ones who didn’t get killed are taking early retirement. It sucks. Field grade officers do all the administrative work, spend most of the day riding a desk unless there’s active fighting or disaster relief.”

“How’s Yojimbo taking it?”

“Pretty well because he spends most of his time with the other horses, he’s put himself in charge of training the recruits. He likes being in charge. Be seeing you.” She disappeared from Severus’s dream.

 

The next day he went to the office and straightened out the mess, then started in the storeroom. Most of the stores were on the shelves, and he started a list of materials that were missing or in short supply. He took a copy of each text that would be used in the next term and took them with him when he returned to the loft. He planned on taking notes and outlining class plans and went to her shelves to get a piece of paper, and noticed the Pensieve she had won in her final year for academic achievement. There was an open cabinet with labeled vials of memories, and he idly glanced at them. His eye locked on a label in red ink, “LILY” He hesitated only a moment before taking the vial and setting up the Pensieve.

_Eli was sitting on the fence at the gameskeeper cottage, next to Yojimbo. Lily walked up. Eli bowed. “Thank you for coming, Lily. ‘_

_Yojimbo sniffed at her. She patted his neck. “you’re not such a terrible beast, are you.” She turned to Eli. ‘It’s about Severus, isn’t it?”_

_“Of course. He is the only thing we have in common. I don’t like your friends. Perhaps if I didn’t we might have gotten to know each other. I have no right to ask a favor of you, but I am, I would put myself forever in your debt. Please forgive him. He was wrong, he admits it. Consider matters in extenuation and mitigation. He truly didn’t mean what he said, he lost control for a moment. He lashed out.” She frowned. “To attack him before the exams, that’s really a low blow. What makes me really angry is how they humiliate him because his family is poor. That’s despicable.”_

_“I hate Severus’s friends,”  Lily said._

_“So do I. But I’m not very well thought of in Slytherin or any other house and I live off campus. He has to have some allies, especially when he’s got a pack after him.” Eli curled her upper lip and shook her head. “ The very first time I met that pack, on the train, they said some things about me, about my family, about the Fey, which were truly unforgivable. Black actually tried to put his hands on me and he’s such a creep, and that family, nothing but inbred elitist twits. He was always staring at me, as if I can’t detect what’s going on behind me. Ugh. He thinks because he thinks he’s cute that all of the girls should fall at his feet.”_

_“Some of ‘em do.”_

_“Not me, I don’t much care for sexual predators, and that’s what he is.”_

_“He’s got his good side” “So does everyone. Sheesh. That doesn’t excuse the way he treated me, or all those girls he uses, laying on that phony charm. And that horrid Pettigrew defines the phrase ‘a sniveling rat faced git’. You should have seen him run away when I faced off with them. What sort of coward leaves his friends to get beat down?”_

_“Severus called me a mudblood. Maybe you don’t know what that means.”_

_“Yeah, like being called a halfbreed Faerie whore doesn’t hurt, and when I don’t put out, I gotta be some kind of bulldyke; don’t you think I know the way everyone talks behind my back? If being called a mudblood is the worst thing that’s happened to you, you’ve led a charmed life, lady. He was freaking out, he said something he didn’t mean. Severus has been your friend for so long, he was so alone as a child until he met you, doesn’t that matter to you?”_

_“Of course it does! But he doesn’t understand. Things change when you grow up, and he’s so obsessed, it’s scary sometimes. When I was a child, I thought I loved him; but you don’t use that word, do you?”_

_“No, and from my observations Terrans use it to mean everything and nothing, to make themselves and everyone else miserable. How can you even know what that word means when you are still a child? I don’t understand a lot of the emotions and motivations of Terrans even though my father is one and I have always felt connected to Terrans in general, you have to understand it’s not part of my psyche to feel any need to pair bond. I mean, my animagus is a tiger; I’m ‘the cat who walks by herself’, that’s one of the reasons I was selected for the military. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel strong emotional attachments.”_

_“He says you’re the sister he would have wanted, your parents the ones he wished he had. I tried to help him, be his friend, my own sister had issues with magic and he helped me. You don’t think it was hard to see how his father treated him? But what could I do? The more I gave the more he wanted. It’s like he wanted us to stay the same way we were as children, when we were the only two magical people in the world; then we came here, I’ve grown but he won’t.” “Or can’t. Not that it matters which.” “When he first approached me when we were small, he was special to me because I didn’t know any wizards. Then we came to Hogwart’s and I met others. He tried to keep that same relationship and was jealous of my new friends in Gryffindor.”_

_“Another reason why I don’t think the division into competitive houses is not a very good idea, it isolates people. They don’t do that at Mahoutokoro, or Beauxbaton’s._ _Severus grew up afraid and alone. Neither of us can really understand what he went through, but that sort of experience scars the soul, that’s why he’s so insecure, that’s why he grabbed hold of you so hard and won’t let go. That’s not an excuse, it’s an explanation. He hides, he observes from a distance, because that’s how he had to behave to survive. His father’s just no good, a failed bard who’s trying to drink himself to death in case no one kills him first. His mother has nowhere to turn for help, she gets the worst of the abuse but she can’t always protect her son. He feels he failed to protect her. You were the only person he had who made him feel better about himself, who kept away the bitterness. You’re far more important to him than he is to you, it’s out of balance._

_“Things happened. Things that shouldn’t have happened. Where do we go from here? I’ve never heard him say that word and I am certain he never will again. I am begging you to forgive Severus. He needs to redeem himself, and he is miserable. At least accept his apology even if you won’t forgive him. Please don’t cut him off completely; he truly needs you. Without you he won’t have any protection from those ‘friends’ of his, those misguided, misbegotten little fascists who buy the lie that they are better than others. I’m not asking you to choose between him and Potter; it’s clear which you would choose. We have just one term remaining, then we all go on our ways, don’t make him suffer, he loves this place, and he’s gifted enough to teach. I never would have gotten through Potions without his help. He’s better than Slughorn.”_

_“How come you’re so mean to poor Horace?”_

_“He couldn’t take a hint, so I had to be clear about my personal boundaries. And to be honest, I don’t like any of his pets very much. I really hated that first term where they made me live in the dorm … no one would sit next to me at meals except Severus, everyone would get quiet and leave when I came into the Commons room; no one wanted to be near me in class and I learned how to just shut up and put in my time. No one except my few friends wanted to know what I did or how I thought. ,lI spent that year in the library or in bed with the curtains pulled. I’d best be getting back to the Farm. Would you walk with me and my pony to the gate?"_

  
_They walked along the lake shore.”I think you’re using that one incident as an excuse to kick him out of your life; that’s not fair to him, the least you can do is be honest.”_

_“Can I ask you personal questions, Eli?”_

_“Of course. you might not like the answer, and I insist that anything said be kept secret,”_

_“Agreed”_

_“but go ahead. Ask away.”_

_“How do you really feel about Severus?”_

_“He and I have an en, that’s a Japanese word, it means our fates are connected. And this doesn’t mean anything romantic. When I was very young, I dreamed of a young Terran prince, who needed me to protect him … and it was Severus I saw in those dreams. My father liked him from the start, says he’s the son he never knew he wanted, and he’s tried to be a good role model, tried to help him out, and both sets of my grandparents think the world of him"_

_. “I mean do you have any feelings for him?”_

_“And you really mean am I jealous of you?. No, I’m not jealous of the feelings he has for you. He has no romantic fixation on me, which is just as well, because I couldn’t fit into the conventional Terran mold, pair off, get married, and breed, we just don’t do things that way. Nor do I think it would work for him. He’s one of the great Terran Magi of our era, that’s what the Crone says. Dumbledore never married, sometimes it’s better that way, you can dedicate more of your energy to your works.=_

_“But if he did have feelings for you, would you?”_

_“I could see no reason to refuse him anything, but he is not interested.”_

_“Don’t you think it would be even crueler to give him false hope?”_

_“I see your point.”_

_“I think it’s best to make a clean break , he has you, and doesn’t Faerie loyalty go to death and beyond? He’s got your family as a safe place to run to. I just can’t be what he wants me to be. I don’t want to be what he wants me to be! I don’t want **him**. Don’t you understand that?” _

_“I do. Isn’t there a Terran saying about not burning your bridges? I can’t be what he wants, all I can do is stand by him and do what I can to protect him but he’s destroying himself over you.”_

_“ Maybe he should learn to want what he can have, and let me go.”_

_Eli rolled her eyes. “If Terrans could do that this realm would not be as it is. He can’t let go. Why aren’t you honest enough to tell him this yourself?”_

_“I don’t want to hurt him.”_

_“You mean you can’t face the hurt you’ve caused, whether or not you meant it doesn’t matter. Take responsibility and tell him this yourself. You knew it would devastate him if you rejected him, and I don’t appreciate having to clean up after you. Everyone says what a nice person you are, so why are you being cruel to your oldest friend here?”_

  
_Lily blushed and looked down. “You don’t get it, do you, Eli? I think that you love him but you just won’t use that word and you’re too stubborn to admit it. I think that he loves you but he’s too damaged to realize it or act on it. If you’d like to do me a favor, take him.”_

_“He’s not old clothing that you outgrew; he’s got feelings. It’s not fair to either him or me for you to dump him on me to assuage your conscience.”_

_“You’re probably the only one who can save his soul. He needs you. You are his shield! Yes, I know about that, you’re not the only one who understands prophecy here. And would it hurt you to at least show up at some of the social events? Part of the reason people don’t like you is they think you think you’re too good to party with us._

_"I play at some of the parties, with my father's band," eli said._

_"Yes, and you hide behind the stage and don't talk to anyone offstage," Lily replied._

_“There’s something else I’d like to ask you, aren’t you afraid of going to fight daemons?”_

_“Of course”_

_“then why are you doing it? You do have a choice, don’t you?” “Of course. But I have had such a wonderful life, I have to give back, and I was born with skills and abilities that can be  used to defend others. I’ve had the best of training, of weapons, of fellow soldiers.”_

_“This isn’t even your realm.”_

_“My father is Terran, we come from Terra, and I volunteered.”_

_“But you’re a woman, doesn’t that matter?”_

_Eli smiled. “We don’t hold by gender stereotypes where I come from. You know how mothers always sa_ _y they will die to protect their children? Well, as a soldier, I am there to protect everyone’s children. You Terrans are so different. I’ve noticed that women here define themselves by their husbands, by their children, they lose their sense of self when they hit puberty. To us, that is pathological, and has lead to the acceptance of second class status by women; ‘how closely women cling to the very chains that bind them,’ and is a major factor in your real problem, which is human overpopulation. Not that any of you Terrans are willing to face unpleasant realities and inconvenient truths. Don’t look at me that way; we take in a lot of Terran refugees, and they all pretty much sing the same song. I can’t ignore the proof right in front of my face, no matter if people don’t want to face it.”_

  
_“Can’t you forgive James for what he did?”_

_“I’m not the one he harmed. It’s not my place to forgive him. I wouldn’t. I just don’t like him. And come on, calling you a mudblood is hardly in the same league as what he did to Severus! Look what your chosen one did, publicly humiliated Severus for no reason other than the same sort of vicious cruelty that drives children to tear the wings off butterflies. What Potter did was petty, mean spirited, and just plain cruel. So of course Severus lashed out, it’s understandable under the circumstances.”_

_“James tried to apologize to you, but you told him you don’t give second chances.”_

_“Second chances? That’s dumber than giving someone an arrow after they missed you on their first shot. Besides, he and that Black creep used up a lot of chances with me. I got none left to give.”_

_“Well, could you at least stop running away when Remus is around?”_

_Eli shook her head. “I don’t know which is worse, Black’s attacks or Lupin’s moony looks. He’s not my type, and my horse can’t abide him.”_

_“Remus thinks the world of you.”_

_“If he did he would stop aiding and abetting the others in their attacks on Severus and get that Black creep to leave me be._

 

_“Here we are. You’d best go in and get your dinner. Thank you for speaking with me.” Eli bowed deeply. Lily returned the bow and said, ” You know what I’ve noticed? The only time he smiles anymore is when you’re around.”_

_“Maybe that’s because I’m the only one who smiles at him.”_

_“Just … take care of him, Eli.”_

_“’While my heart is still beating.’” She mounted Yojimbo and rode out of the gate._

 

A single tear fell in the water. He sat in one of the chairs by the fire and stared into a mirror on the side table, concentrating his thoughts on Eli. In about ten minutes, her spirit appeared. “What is it?” He looked at her, then gestured to the work table, at the pensieve. “I didn’t know you could send me messages, you’ve never called me on the mirror before,” she said as she drifted over to the work table. “You never cease to amaze me, Severus.”

“I didn’t know I could do it until I tried it.”

She looked at the crystal vial. “I was hoping the first one you’d look at was the beat down.”

“You wanted me to find this?”

“You can’t keep secrets from me, it’s only fair I share with you. I never would have agreed to go to that dance, never would have touched you if there was even the remotest chance she would ever want you. I had to distract you … I thought I would have to drag you by the hair to the Beltane fires in Avalon. You needed contact before you got hurt or hurt someone. That’s what she did for you when you were children. You met her just when things got really bad at home. She kept you from falling apart, your feelings for her kept you from getting mean, or cruel. You were a frightened child so you tried to grab on too hard.”

“You mean I drove her away.”

“No, she was never yours to begin with. It’s like what Oscar Wilde said, ‘in love, we begin by fooling ourselves and end by fooling others.’ “

“I thought Faeries didn’t use that word.”

“That’s one of many reasons why. But your love saved you, you are a better person for having known her, she’s why you couldn’t go along with the excesses of Riddle and his sycophants. Riddle never loved anyone or anything, had no empathy nor sympathy for any being, and you loved her. You sought love from the creatures, and they responded to you. If she hadn’t been in your life, you could have been as bad as the Malfoys or that horrid le Strange thing. It was your love for her that shocked you out of the path you were on, so her sacrifice saved you and her son. Don’t ever let go of the feeling you had for her."

“ You can love, but you don’t seem to be good at letting anyone love you.”

“And you Faeries don’t love anyone.”

“Depends on how you define your terms, my prince. I can’t ignore the power of the word with Terrans; after all, without love to sing about, there would be no blues, no rock and roll, or most of your literature and dramatic arts. It’s just that Terrans lose all rational control and can do some really horrible and misguided things when they let their higher cognitive functions be overridden by malfunctioning versions of that emotion, whatever it is.”

“So define your terms: How do you feel about me?”

“Oh, Severus, you have to ask? I know you’re insecure, but how many times do I have to tell you or show you how I feel? I would throw myself in the path of an arrow, block the most deadly spell for you. I refuse you nothing, I would do anything to make you happy. I trust you with my life, my magic, with everything I am, everything I have, and you still don’t have any faith in me. What do you want of me? My soul? Should I bottle it for you so you can keep it in your storeroom, like you have my tears?”

He looked out the window and sighed deeply. “I never felt I deserved you or any of this.”

“Stop that. If you didn’t deserve any of this, or me, you wouldn’t have it, or me. Now, you should take a look at the memory labeled ‘beatdown jp/sb’ This is something no one but those of us who were there know about.”

E _li and Alice were riding near the Shrieking Shack when they came upon James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Eli and Yojimbo rode up to them. “Alice, I need a witness here. You four are CALLED OUT. Right here, right now. Yojimbo, STAY OUT OF IT.” She made a blocking gesture to the horse, who snorted and ripped out some chunks of turf pawing the ground in response. “Make sure he stays put, Alice. I don’t need help with this lot.”_

_She leaped off and landed in front of the group. Peter turned and ran. Eli took a running step then smashed a kick with her boot to Sirius’s groin, and he collapsed, gasping for breath. Remus grabbed his wand, and aimed a ____ spell at her. She reached out and fielded it like a shortstop grabbing a line drive, her hand glowing green, and tossed it back at him, hitting him center mass so he was thrown into the side of the shack hard enough to knock the wind out of him. James missed his only shot at her as she did a leap and roll, then tackled him from the side hard enough to snap his knee in a sickening crunch. He grabbed his leg, writhing in pain. Lupin was trying to catch her with a spell but was too slow, and when she grabbed him by the arm and knocked his wand out of his hand, he yelled, “I SURRENDER.”_

_Eli threw him to the ground. “My fight’s not with you, you weren’t there, but you’re still a part of this gang, Lupin. I know what you are. I’ve known since the first day we met, I can smell it on you. I don’t like the Ministry rules, and that’s why I haven’t ratted you out, but just remember I know. Don’t push me. You’ve been covering for these assholes ever since you were made prefect.” She looked down at James. “You Terrans are so fragile! I didn’t mean to do permanent harm, except to him … I’d better fix this. Now quit whinging.” She jabbed her index finger into his neck. “That should block the pain.”_

_Remus went over to Sirius, who was retching, doubled over, holding his groin. Eli knelt next to James, and took her athame out of her shirt. He gasped and tried to pull away. “Relax, Potter, I wouldn’t dull my blade with your blood,” and slit his pants up the side. She touched the joint, then with gentle fingers, moved the bones back to their proper alignment and held the athame to the knee, while whispering a spell with words James did not understand. Eli then gripped his knee with both hands for about 30 seconds. “I need a splint.” Remus jumped up, ran in the shack, and used his wand to pull a board from the wall. He brought it back out, and trimmed the wood into the proper lengths. Eli held out her hand. “Give me your ties,” and used them to secure the splint in place. “That’s all I can do. Get him to the ward to make sure it’s set correctly and some healing potions.” She replaced the athame in her cleavage._

_“I thought you weren’t supposed to use Faerie magic here, said James. “We’re not on Hogwart’s property, I didn’t use any magic to fight, I just beat on you, and there is a clause that allows me to use my judgment to use healing magic in an emergency. So there. If you want to go tell Dumbledore I beat you boys up go right ahead. I’ll make sure everyone knows what happened, you got smacked down by a GIRL FAERIE. And that Gryffindor’s prefect breaks the rules to cover for his friends … and should not have been allowed to attend in the first place. You think parents would approve of a werewolf in their precious darling’s school? You think I don’t know what’s going on? I live right down the road, you’re on my turf now. Just remember this, boys, you went two on one on Severus, you humiliated him in front of all those people, right before tests, and I took you on, one on four, in front of only one witness, who won’t tell if you don’t, so you can save face. Y’all fucking owe me. If you don’t cease and desist your attacks on my friend I will escalate my attacks, and you don’t want that. And I will get away with it.”_

  
_Potter looked at her with respect. “How did you do that thing catching the spell?” “I’m a Faerie, I was born like this. My whole body is a tool of magic. All you’ve got is your wand. You boys prove it’s better to have a pussy than to be one. Maybe next time I run into y’all I’ll be alone. I might not be so nice then. Come on, Alice, let’s go.” She jumped on Yojimbo’s back, and they cantered off to Hogsmeade_.

“They never did tell anyone.” Eli said. “I thought Black was the worst of that lot, but Potter had a lot of nasty in him, he was petty and vindictive, a gladhanding sack of shit, the worst sort of bully. Thoughtlessly cruel and relentlessly callow.”

“We were always fighting over her,” he sighed.

“And she let it happen. Lupin just went along to get along, and Pettigrew was a ghastly spotty prat who was more of a mascot than anything else. Black did the world a favor when he killed him, if that’s what really happened. I don’t think he did. It was just too convenient that Pettigrew’s body disappeared. No hearing, no trial? Come on now, that’s way too convenient! And unrighteous. Every dog should have his day in court. Black had it in for you, but he went after me because he’s what Grandmother Morgan calls an okuri-inu, when I made it clear I wasn’t interested that’s when he got so vicious to me. He wanted to keep Lupin away because he is a peacemaker and he could have resolved the conflicts, but as long as he and Potter kept the conflicts going, Lupin went along with his pals, instead of doing what was right.”

“She never wanted me. She wanted to get rid of me.”

“No, that’s not fair to either of you. She cared very much about you but she just didn’t have the moral courage to be honest to either you or Potter. She used Potter and Black to drive you away, then tried to get me to take you off her hands, because she couldn’t bear to hurt you herself. You pushed it too far, you were stalking, you were getting really crazed, and they kept setting you up for worse and worse harm. You and Lily both bought into the idiotic romantic schema, that there can be Only One Love, One Soulmate, and that’s ridiculous, expecting someone else to fill your needs. It never works. It’s like how women will try and use a child to hold onto a man, or to feel some sort of accomplishment, so the child becomes an ego extension of the mother. Very unhealthy. I mean, just look how crazy Demeter got when Persephone eloped. Defining yourself by someone else? You may think I’m out of line criticizing Terran behavior, but I’ve seen enough of the results, all the abused and abandoned housewives and house elves who end up in the refugee program in Faerie all have pretty much the same story. And come on, look at the crimes in your realm … how many mothers and children are beaten and killed in their homes by the ones supposed to love and protect them, that speaks for itself about the ‘power of love.’ ”

“And I thought I was a cynic.”

“Why is being honest and dealing with reality cynical? But let’s get back to your lessons. I can’t believe you never learned astral projection.”

“You know how it is, there is never enough time to learn everything. I’m just about done with the exercises and I almost broke free last night.”

“You work fast. Show me.” He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.

“Send your spirit to me, Severus.” She drifted over to him, and touched his forehead. “Take my hand. Remember how it feels when you break free so you can do it yourself.” Severus concentrated on moving his hand without moving it, and he felt Eli’s fingertips touch his. “Now, concentrate your will. Will your spirit to leave your body behind. Visualize it. Now push out, like a swimmer diving off the edge of the pool.” Severus felt himself fly, looked down, and saw his body, breathing slowly, on the bed. “We can fly here,” Eli said, still holding his hand, “Let’s go”

“Where to?”

“Belfast. Rory Gallagher is playing. We don’t need tickets.” They flew to Northern Ireland, drifting over the city, observing the signs of urban warfare. “Those Hibernians are as daft as the Terran Magi, fighting over which brand of magic is best.”

  
After the concert, Eli told Severus, “To return quickly, visualize your body, but don’t let go of my hand.” Severus concentrated, and almost immediately they returned to the loft. “That’s enough for your first time out. Dive back in.” He re-entered his body. “You have to remember your body can’t be left alone for too long and you have to make sure you’re in a very safe place because you are completely vulnerable to attack when you’re ‘planing.’ If you suddenly feel yourself being pulled back, it’s because there is a threat, it’s like how you can sleep through some things but other things wake you up immediately. So don’t let yourself get too distracted.”

“What happens to my body? Am I resting? Can I do this instead of sleeping?”

“Not on a regular basis. The physical body is in a sleeplike state, but your brain needs to dream and you can do that only when actually sleeping. I have to get back to the unit. Be seeing you.”

 

The next day Severus finished the second book and read the protective spells Eli had written into the back page of the book. He lay on the bed and sought her out at her camp on the mountain training base. Eli was eating dinner in the mess hall with the troops. She sensed him there immediately. She finished her food, then excused herself, saying she had paperwork to finish. When she got to her room in the barracks,

“You always exceed expectations, don’t you, Severus? You found me? On your second time ‘planing,’ amazing. So, what do you think of my place here?”

“Cozy.”

“Claustrophobia-inducing is more like it. So, where would you like to go?”

“Do you think I could go in your dreams tonight?”

“Sure. It’s not hard. When I fall asleep, you dive into my body, and that will take you to where I am. I should warn you, I tend to let my dreams go where they will and they can get a bit odd from time to time. If I go into a combat flashback you might want to get out.”

“I think I can handle it.”

“Keep in mind you have to have some kind of connection to someone to be able to connect so easily, and even if you could, you should never go into someone else without permission, unless it’s one of those ‘exigent circumstances’ that require ‘extraordinary efforts’ not idle curiosity or prurient interest.”

“Obviously.”

  
_Severus looked down, saw he was wearing Faerie body armor and had a sword in a jeweled scabbard at his waist. The sword had a gold pommel in the shape of a pomegranate, and two gold chimeras on the guard. He knew that when he drew the sword they would wrap around his hand and would breathe fire. He had Excalibur. There was a dagger on his belt, and a spear at his side. . Eli sat next to him on the bench. They were in the hold of the Azure Dragon transport junk. Yojimbo was standing next to a tall silver grey Faerie horse with a shield hanging from the saddle, he knew it to be his. There were three dozen other horses and riders, as well as a dozen Dragons. He looked at the other soldiers. He recognized Finn Maccool, and other officers in Eli’s unit who had died in the first assault on the monastery on the lake by the daemons. “’Fasten your seatbelt, it’s going to be a bumpy night.”_

 

 

YULE Severus was waiting at the dock that Solstice. When the sun disappeared, the Azure Dragon junk appeared. Eli and Yojimbo came ashore and it went back under the water. Yojimbo whinnied and cantered up the slope, shoved open the stable door and was greeted by the horses, elves, and relatives gathered there. He went straight for the food table. Eli and Severus hauled her bags up to the loft. Albus was seated by the fire. “Blessed Yule, Albus.”

He got up and hugged her. “And to you.”

“So, what’s up? I take it you talked to the Crone?”

“Yes, Severus needs to work with the Druids improving his skills. So you’ll be escorting him there when it’s convenient, and he’ll spent the holiday break in Faerie.”

“I need to take a shower and get dressed.”

“And I must go talk to your Great Grandmother.” Albus left the loft.

Severus went to the wardrobe and took out the green velvet dress. “Would you wear this?” She smiled.

Within 15 minutes she had showered and dressed, and waved a wand to style her hair and fix her face. She placed the mistletoe coronet on her head, the ruby ring on her finger. They went to the house bearing a large bundle of presents from the Mountain. After putting the presents under the Yule tree, they lounged on cushions placed on the floor in front of the fire, at the feet of Great Grandmother and Albus, who sat at her side on the sofa. All night long, neighbors stopped by to join in the party, and everyone got caught up on everyone’s stories since last Yule. Albus excused himself at midnight, and not long after Eli explained she was tired, needed some sleep, and would see everyone sometime tomorrow to open presents.

They went back to the loft. “How do you like teaching?”

“I don’t recall being that stupid when I was a student.”

“Plenty of them were that stupid, you just didn’t notice.”

“How much leave do you have?”

“Two weeks, or more, as needed. Not a vacation, I have to file reports and get supplies, interview some recruits, check out the new weapons, so I’m not getting any real time off. Rank has its privilege but the responsibilities are enormous. She threw herself in one of the wing chairs flanking the fireplace. “We need to talk.”

Severus gave her a stricken look and sat in the chair across from her. "Do you trust me, Severus?”

“Yes.”

She reached into her bodice and removed a small bundle of purple silk. “This is a gift from the Fey.” She tossed him the bundle. He untied it to reveal a gold ring, with a square purple stone set in it. “We call this a soulstone, and it was made with my heart’s blood.  See the color flashes inside the stone when you hold it up?  Those are my chakras.  When I die the flashes stop.  If you hold it to your forehead, we are in instant contact telepathically.  I’m your sponsor. We want you to join us, so you can use more of our magic. You’ll be able to call the mists, come and go as you please, and have all the benefits of any citizen.” He picked up the ring. “You can’t take it off once it’s on. It’s a bond that can’t be broken. You might want to think about this.'

“No, I don’t need to think about it. But shouldn’t you put the ring on me?”

“If you wish. But you should go lie down and loosen all clothing. I have been told this can be somewhat incapacitating.”

“You don’t know?”

“No, this isn’t a common procedure. You’re a special case.”

“Is this … like marriage?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, it’s an ancient ritual that began among the warriors. Apparently it works by altering your DNA and changing your physiology, so avoid blood tests. Riddle won’t even think to look, he’s never paid any attention to the Fey and we want to keep it that way. We want everyone on both sides to think the Fey are not the least bit interested in the conflict. As far as the Death Eaters are concerned, your only interest in me is carnal, and in the Morgans is fiduciary.”

“Which is what they think anyway. I let them think that to protect you and the family.”

“You keep secrets well, Severus.”

 

He handed the ring to Eli. “I’m waiting. You don’t have to get on your knees, unless you want to.”

“You’re sure about this?”

“I told you I trust you. Should I not?”

She picked up his left hand. “your hands are so beautiful, so eloquent, so graceful … watching you create potions was one of my favorite things.”

“I’m waiting.”

“Just remember, you volunteered.”

She knelt at the side of the bed and slid the ring on his finger. He felt the ring tighten itself, and felt a pulse of energy enter his hand, which went up his arm, to his heart, which gave a lurch, and he felt the energy race to his brain.

“How do you feel?”

“Uh, all right, I guess, really weak, kind of dizzy.”

“Don’t try to sit up. Your DNA is being altered, and there will be certain physiological and anatomical changes, nothing noticeable, not like the magic that disfigured Riddle.”

“I suppose I should have asked this earlier, but is there any danger?”

“Only to the donor, and I accepted the risk. I’m expendable. You’re not.” She walked over to the altar and picked up a Klein bottle filled with a clear liquid that glowed faintly in the dim light. She filled a glass with the fluid and the bottle refilled itself. “Water from the Spring. Drink it.”

  
“You’ll be able to do things you couldn’t before, you will learn psionics, project and read thoughts of all species. There is a method to compress your memories so you can transmit them to someone instantly, we use it a lot on the battlefield. You’ll need it. You will be able to call the mists. Your ability to control emotions and conceal your thoughts will improve, and you’ll really need that. You are going into darkness, you are going alone, I can’t be at your side to defend you so I will try to make sure you have all the powers of Faerie within you. You will have to dissemble, to equivocate; to pretend to follow the one who killed your love, you will be the greatest hero but no one can know of your courage, oh, Severus. I am nothing next to you.”

“Albus knows, you know, it’s enough for me,” he said softly. “It will have to be enough.”

  
Eli said, “you remember when we started studying together, you had Father perform the Unbreakable Vow on us so we would keep our secret from Terrans.”

“Yes, he held the Fidelius Charm which was passed on to Older Sister.”

“Remember how he told us there would be a time when we would have to prove ourselves alone, and only then could we fight together? You proved worthy, and I didn’t die. It’s my fight, too. We need to renew the vows and upgrade.”

He looked at her with an amused expression.  
“Remember you volunteered for this, Eli” He reached for his wand.

 

*This is one of the biggest problems I have with the world of jkr.  It's based on discrimination.  Look at the power imbalance.  Wizards know what Muggles are, but Muggles are for the most part NOT ALLOWED to have any knowledge of Wizardry.  An obvious conflict is how can you keep it a secret when so many "MUggle borns" exist?  I also despise the idea that it's acceptable to use mind altering methods to "erase" Muggle minds so they are kept ignorant (Along the same lines as her giggling and coy approval of 'love potions'  I don't know of a single real witch who has ANYTHING to do with "love potions"  To control the mind and emotions of a sentient species is the worst form of rape).  This apartheid and systematic control of information to the Muggles is what is at the root of every Wizard Supremacist movement.  The clear discrimination against other species, like Centaurs, is more evidence that the entire "community" of Wizards is tragically flawed.  It's worse than racism, worse than sexism, it's the worst of the isms!  To discriminate and control the minds of the Muggles is why Wizardry is more corrupt and venal than most of the Muggle world.  Look at that "justice" system, how many people are wrongfully convicted, and come on now!  Conditions at Azkaban would sicken Ivan the Terrible.   They have NO mental health care, so the insane, like most of the Blacks, are allowed to run amok.  They do nothing about domestic abuse, don't even provide foster care or some form of orphanage.  Imagine if Tom Riddle had been raised by Wizards.  They condoned the clear case of CHILD ABUSE that should have gotten HP's aunt and uncle arrested by Muggle authorities.  


	2. The first train ride to Hogwart's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli goes to Hogwarts, is instantly anathematized by the Marauders. Music: Wishbone As: Argus Rory Gallagher: Rory Gallagher, Deuce

_[remember the day we met? In Diagon Alley, you were with your parents, I was with my mother}_

  
“I don’t know why I can’t use the wand Grandmother made me,” said the girl, a gangly, long legged brunette with short wavy hair. “Do they think it’s cheating to use one of my own?”

“Probably,” said the man with her, as the woman with the group laughed.

Severus Snape noticed her eyes were purple, just as his mother gasped. “ TAKESHI   武  Morgan?”

The man turned around and looked at them. He had long black hair, parted in the middle, and black eyes. He was dressed all in black. Severus recognized the man in the pictures he had seen of a man playing guitar in his mother’s picture album. The woman had curly dark auburn hair, ivory skin, and large purple eyes. “Eileen! Eileen Prince! It’s been years! You remember Emerald, this our younger daughter, Eli. Eli, this is Eileen. We were in Slytherin House together.”

“This is my son, Severus. He’s in Slytherin. I’d heard you went to America and then back to Japan, you’re an Auror, aren’t you? And one of the Azure Dragons?” Severus looked at the girl. When he met her eyes, her pupils dilated and he felt a surge of energy entering his mind. _[you’re real]_

“Yes, I was transferred to the Ministry, they want to work more closely with the Ring of Fire Authority, and I’m helping with the treaty negotiations between the Fey and the Ministry. Eli was allowed to enter as a 3rd year student. First ever Faerie student in Hogwart’s.”

 

Emerald said, “I’m rather hungry, why don’t we go to that place you kept talking about and let the children do their own shopping? Severus, you can show Eli where everything is located, can’t you?”

“We’ll be at the Leaky Cauldron, here, take this money,: said the man, handing her a small pouch.

Severus looked at her interest. “I’ve never met a Faerie before.”

“And now you’ve met two,” Eli smiled.

“And you are a legilimens? Did you just project your thoughts into me? What did you mean, ‘you’re real.’ ?”

“I’m sorry, that was rude. I’m not supposed to do that. So let’s go in and buy a wand, since I can’t use the ones I have.”

“You have more than one already?”

“Oh, yes. I have a lot of tools, but when I was admitted I got a long list of things I’m not supposed to do, and I’m not allowed to use any of my tools for the time being. I’m the first Faerie, that they know of, to attend Hogwarts. I guess there are a lot of politics involved. My older sister is at Makoutokoro where my Terran grandmother went. My father’s father is one of the Morgans who live near Hogsmeade, he was in Gryffindor. That family has attended Hogwart’s from the beginning.”

“I’ve seen your father’s picture before … he plays guitar?”

“Yes, he does a lot of studio work for Terran recordings He knows a lot of musicians. He plays at all the Festivals in Faerie, too.”

“Do you play music?”

“Sure, we all get musical training from the very beginning of our education. I’m good, just not the best. I’m a backup player, not a star.”

  
They entered the store. Mr Ollivander turned from the woman he was talking to and stared at Eli. “I’ve never had a Faerie in here, welcome! So the gossip is true, Hogwarts admitted a Faerie?”

“Yes. I’m Eli le Fey.” She bowed, and the old gentleman returned the bow with a flourish. Severus noticed that almost all of the boxes on the shelves were trembling slightly.

“I’m surprised you need a wand!”

“I have four already but I wasn’t allowed to bring them. My first wand was applewood from the Avalon grove, I have a cherry wand with dragon heartstring from my grandmother, a black walnut wand with the Crone gave me, and the blackthorn with tiger’s fangs I was given when I selected for Warrior training. I’m not allowed to use them without supervision, of course. We use a lot of tools in our magick.”

“If you ever have a chance to bring them to me I would dearly love to see them, Miss le Fey.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” By now all of the boxes had started to vibrate noisily.

“I understand the wand picks me? That’s what my father, Takeshi Morgan, said."

“Oh, yes, I remember him, let’s see, ebony with dragon’s heart. I’ve sold wands to Morgans for as long as I’ve been in business “

“So then, let the wand that wishes to work with me come to my hand” she said, as dozens of boxes flew open. The first wand to reach her was ebony.

“Oh, my! that’s got a phoenix core, 13 inches “

“It chose me, I’ll take it. Well, that was easy, sorry about the mess.”

“Perfectly fine, Miss le Fey! My regards to your father.” She paid the bill and they left.

“Next, I have to pick up some books. I’m not looking forward to this. I don’t read any Latin or its derivatives, we never use that language. The Druids say the only things the Romans got right was plumbing and concrete. Most of my texts are in Runes. You know they let me test out? I got my NEWT in Runes already. The one course that scares me is Potions. I saw some of my father’s texts and I couldn’t make any sense out of them.”

“Potions is my best class. Maybe I can help you.”

“Maybe I can teach you some of our magic, if you’d like.”

“Can I learn it?”

“Sure, plenty of Druids are Terrans; gifted Magi can learn just about anything. That’s what we call your kind. You are all Terrans on this side of the Divide but only some of you are Magi. My father says that even what you call Muggles can learn magick to some extent, that Carlotta Pinkstone is right.”

“You might not want to mention that at school.”

“Politically incorrect, eh?”

“Something like that. Let me see your list … we’re in Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfigurations together.”

“Father says I’ll most likely be put in Slytherin for the same reason he was, we’re what you call Parseltongues. The snake is a symbol of wisdom, you know, and their language is learned by most of the priests. It’s a lot like Dragon, which I speak, but with an accent. The Druids say that their languages came from the same ancient tongue, but dragons use a lot of slang, so they can be hard to understand.”

Severus stared at her. “That’s a very rare skill here. Like having an animagus.”

“Oh, that, I had to register mine. “

“You have an animagus? What is it?”

“A tiger. A Faerie tiger; descended from Terran tigers but they are noticeably different. You know shapeshifting is pretty much normal where I’m from. The Druids make it easy, especially if you are of the Fey.”

“Do you know what a Patronus is?”

“We all have them from birth onwards, but we have a different name which means something like ‘guardian spirit.’ mine is a dragon. The Japanese three toed dragon. They don’t breathe fire and are friendly to humans, in fact, some of them are both human and dragon. Like my grandmother Morgan.”

“A dragon patronus and a tiger animagus? No wonder you are a Warrior! But why didn’t you start two years ago?”

“Because no Faerie is allowed out of the Realm until they are 12 and have completed their first cycle. I was admitted at age 11 thanks to my father’s family but they delayed entrance. Um … you see, we live as children in the youth home until we are 12, then we are tested and shown the paths to follow based on what we can do and what we can’t do.”

They went to the book store and then went to purchase a caldron and various potion ingredients. Eventually they went to the Leaky Caldron, where Eileen, Emerald and Takeshi were seated in a corner booth. There was a plate of sandwiches and a pitcher of cider waiting for them. Eli smiled, sat down, and said, “Mother, Father, Severus agreed to be my potions tutor, you need to pay him a good salary.”

“Excellent, Eli,” Emerald said. “We were talking about how Eileen used to be one of the classmates that Takeshi used to invite to his grandmother’s for Sunday dinner. That sounds like something you might like to do. I’m sure that Dumbledore would approve, he and grandmother go way back to when she was attending.”

Takeshi nodded. “Eileen, perhaps you could come to at least the Yule party. Grandmother always liked you.”

“Maybe. Severus, we’d best be heading back, the train takes a long time.”

“Oh, allow me, the Ministry gave me use of a limousine so why don’t I run you home? And pick you up and bring you to the station so the kids can catch the train? I’d like to see what things look like, it’s been a long time since I’ve been here. Come along, Emerald, Eli, let’s take a little road trip.” They departed Diagon Alley, and got in a black limo that appeared out of nowhere. “It’s got a few special features,” Takeshi smiled. “Won’t take very long to get to where you’re going.”

  
When the limo got to Spinner’s End, Takeshi announced that they would go in and say hello to Tobias. “It’s been years, it’s time we got reacquainted.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Takeshi,” said Eileen.

Emerald took her hand and smiled. “Don’t worry, he will behave himself, I will see to that.”

“You’re not going to do anything to him, are you?”

“Nothing that won’t be good for him,” Emerald said with a tight smile. “He needs a bit of enlightenment, I think.”

Eli looked at Severus, who gave her an anguished look. She smiled at him. “Mother is very good at getting people to behave,” she whispered.

Eileen opened the door and they walked inside, Takeshi and Emerald flanking her, with Eli and Severus right behind. Tobias Snape was sitting in a chair, watching television, with an open bottle of cheap gin on the table next to him. “Hello, Tobias, it’s been a long time,” said Takeshi.

Severus noticed that Emerald’s eyes were showing sparkles of green as she stared at Tobias. “You remember Emerald, and this is our daughter, Eli. She is the same age as Severus, you know. She’s going to be in his class at Hogwart’s.'

Severus was trying not to cringe, wondering if his father would hit him in front of them. Eli felt his distress and stood close to him, holding his hand.

Emerald picked up the bottle, removed her athame from its sheath at her waist, and touched the bottle, which turned into a flask full of a golden fluid.

“If you’re going to drink, don’t drink that Terran poison, try some of this instead.” She scowled at him, her eyes turning almost completely green. “Drink it. Now.” She filled his glass with the fluid and handed it to him.

“Who the hell do you think you are?”

“You know who I am, you know what I can do,” she said, in a soft, penetrating voice. “I’m Emerald le Fey, Snape, and drink it before you piss me off.”

He was about to say something, but instead picked up the glass and drank it. He looked at her in amazement. “That’s good, very good indeed.”

“here’s something else.” She tossed him a leather pouch. “Hashish. Next time you want a drink smoke this instead.”

 

Eli and Severus sat next to Eileen on the sofa. Takeshi pulled up a chair next to Tobias. Emerald stood next to the fire, on the other side of him.

“I’m back in England for a while, I’m assigned to the Ministry, writing treaties, that sort of thing. Rather boring, really. I’ve got a flat in London and I’ll be spending time at the Farm. Eli needs a friend and I’d like to think you might, too. I know there were some hard feelings, but it’s time to put that aside. We were mates, Toby, don’t forget that. I didn’t want to leave the band, you know.”

Tobias helped himself to another glass of the mead. “I know, I wanted to blame you instead of admit you were the only real talent in the band. I just wasn’t good enough.”

“That’s not true, look at Rory Gallagher, he’s the best guitar player of all, but he never gets the credit, while those no talent hair boys sell albums. Can you believe the hubris of the Rolling Stones, calling themselves the best? They can’t even play their own instruments. It’s a bitch of a calling, to be a bard in this realm.”

“It’s very different in Faerie,” added Emerald. “I’ve heard the recordings, you kept up with Takeshi, and your voice was much better than his. If you haven’t ruined it with that nasty shit you’ve been drinking.”

“Ah, that was a long time ago, the music changed, I can’t listen to the radio, to all that drek on the airways.”

“I dunno, there still are some good acts out there, Roxy Music is interesting; I like Wishbone Ash, they’ve got a good sound with the two guitars,  Robin Trower, Jeff Beck, and have you heard Johnny Winter?  And some of those Southern bands from the States, they've got some talent.  That kid Duane Allman has a future," said Takeshi.

 “I don’t like listening to music anymore.” Tobias frowned deeply. “It hurts too much, even after all these years. We were doing the blues years before anyone, they stole our sound, our songs, and made money, and look what I got.”

 "'There's no use being anything more than ten minutes ahead of your time,[rf: Tom Wolfe]' the ones who started the blues didn't get much either," Takeshi said.

Emerald suggested that Eileen, Eli and Severus all go to the kitchen and make some coffee. They went to the small, immaculate kitchen. The old appliances were well cared for and perfectly clean.

“You spend most of your time here, don’t you, Eileen?” Emerald opened one of the cabinets, which contained a few bottles of liquor. She transfigured each into a pale silvery liquid. “It’s medicinal applejack. That should keep him for a while, let me know when you need more. He’s killing himself, he looks so much older than Takeshi, and they’re the same age.'

Severus busied himself gathering up coffee and getting out the pot and cups. When he reached up to open a cabinet, his sleeve was pulled back to reveal the edge of a large bruise on his forearm. Eli noticed this, and he noticed her gaze. He yanked down his sleeve and turned red.

As the coffee brewed, Eileen sat down. “He wasn’t like this at first, things were pretty good when we were in London.”

Emerald took her hand. “Until Takeshi had to leave, then he blamed him for breaking up the band, then he blamed you for getting pregnant, and now he blames you, right, Severus?” She shook her head. “It’s the same old song. I hope you don’t mind me being blunt. Takeshi’s talked about you a lot over the years, he was hurt when you cut off communication. You know, he never tried to put together another band, just does studio work here, but he plays a lot when he’s in Avalon.”

Eli took Severus’s hand under the table. He felt energy of some sort, unlike anything he’d experienced before, a good feeling, he knew she liked him enormously, even though they’d just met. Eileen looked in their direction. “Dear, why don’t you show Eli your library?”

 

Severus led her to his room. The walls were floor to ceiling shelves, three of the walls were full of books, some very ancient. “My mother and her father gave me these books. I was named after him.”

“Oh, not the Roman Septimius Severus?”

“Grandfather doesn’t have much left but his villa and his library and every year on my birthday he sends me part of his collection. He lives near Rome, never comes here anymore. He doesn’t like my father at all.” His face clouded.

Eli’s brow furrowed. “Your father seems to me to be a very sad man who lashes out instead of crying. I know he hurts you and your mother. He doesn’t really understand wizards, he feels that he’s cast out of your lives, and he resents it. Did you feel me when I held your hand?”

“Yes, what did you do to me?”

She held out her hand. “You see the mark in the center of my palm? It’s sort of like an electrical socket or something like that, when we touch others we can feel the other’s thoughts, it’s much more intense with two of my kind. But you are easy to read, for a Terran. My mother read your mother when they met, she’s very good at diagnosing problems. She’s what the Dine call a hand trembler.”

“I’d heard you Fey are all Legilimens, that you can, as the Muggles say, ‘read minds’.”

“We call it mentalics, the study of psionic abilities. Not so much reading minds, we’re more empathic, we can easily feel the emotions of other creatures. All creatures. We can ‘read minds’ but only with physical contact and with permission, we can go deep inside minds.  we pick up on other cues, like body posture, facial expression, smells, tone of voice, you know. Our senses are more sensitive,” she grinned. “I can see in the dark, our eyes are like cat’s and reflect light.”

 

Severus selected a book from the shelf and handed it to Eli. She examined it carefully. “It’s from Faerie,” she said softly. “And very old. Can you read it? “

“Yes, most of it, some of the words I don’t know.”

She smiled at him. “I can translate this. It’s one of the texts I had to use in school.”

“I thought Druids didn’t write things down?”

“Only the Rituals are not written down by the Priests. Ovates write down everything. Bards write some stuff down and some they like to keep open to improvisation. You know that we use science and magic, we don’t understand the apartheid you Terrans maintain. It’s kind of like having one hand tied behind your back, for both of y’all, Muggle and Magi. A lot of Ovates and Bards are Terran refugees, and we have to keep them interested, we even have a space program.”

“No wonder the Ministry doesn’t trust the Fey, but you’d think they would realize that they are the only hold outs and other regions do work with you.”

“We’ve always operated openly in the Rim of Fire with the Guardians,” she said. “And a lot of the Fey have Terran ancestry on the male line. There are a lot of Terrans with Faerie blood from male Faeries who come to this side of the mists, because their mothers are not Faeries they are not citizens unless they can get a Faerie to sponsor them. My mother did that for my father. We each can, if we want, sponsor one Terran. Most don’t, it’s a huge responsibility, and the Terran has to qualify for entrance.”

 

Eileen and Emerald entered the room. Emerald was impressed at the library, and recognized the book in Eli’s hand. “Your grandfather gave you that?” she asked.

“Yes.”

"Well, Eli, it’s time for us to get back to the London. Severus, we’ll come pick you up to catch the train, we will be here at seven in the morning, we’ll have something to eat en route. You have to ride that train on your first day, it’s traditional.”

They went to the front room. Takeshi and Tobias rose and the Snapes escorted Eli and her parents to the limo that appeared as they exited the door. As soon as the door shut and they drove off, Takeshi blew out his breath and shook his head. “Poor Eileen. Poor Severus. Toby is such a mess. What are we going to do about it?”

“I don’t know where to start,” said Emerald. “Eli, you two need each other. Stay by his side, you can watch each other’s back.”

 

Two days later, when the limo pulled up to the Snape residence, Severus was waiting, alone, with his trunk on the doorstep. He'd offered Lily a ride with them, but she refused, saying that her parents always liked to ride with her on the train to London.  "I'll catch up with you on the Hogwarts Express,"  she said. He knew her parents, being Muggles, couldn't go to the platform and they always said their goodbyes at the wall.

The chauffeur grabbed his trunk and put it in the boot. Emerald smiled at Severus. “I was worried about sending her to Hogwart’s where she would be completely alone, but now that you’ve met, I know she’ll have one friend.” They got to the platform early, and Eli led them to the end carriage where she sat in the far corner.

“Remember my father’s family is right across the lake, you’re not alone there. Severus, keep an eye on her for me.”

He handed Severus a parchment, which turned out to be a document from Gringgott’s bank authorizing transfer of funds to an account in the name of Severus Snape. “Hope this makes up for all the headaches she’ll give you. Make sure she does well in her classes.”

Emerald took Eli’s hands. “Be yourself, you’re strong enough to take on whatever is thrown your way. We’ll have your arms sent to the farm and you can practice there. We’ll see you on Sunday.” They left the carriage.

 

“Here we go. This is not going to be much fun for me. You know how the Ministry has fought even recognizing Faerie, as if pretending we don’t exist will get rid of us. And Terrans tend to form gangs and I’m the ultimate ‘odd man out’ “

“Yes .. they can be very cruel. So, you are training in arms? Which ones?”

“Archery, fencing, manual combat, and of course riding; I’m to be a ‘groundpounder’ and I’ll get a horse in a year or two. Faerie horses are not like Terran horses, they are omnivorous and have fangs. Not even the tigers will attack one until they are near death, and then, it’s a mercy killing, you know, giving back, have to maintain balance after all. Horses are like the wands at Ollivander’s, they pick you.”

“Can I see your wand?”

“Sure”

He took it and examined it carefully. “this is very powerful,” He waved it and conjured a dragonfly that appeared to be made of opalescent glitter.”

“Oooh, pretty!“

“Do you think you can show me your animagus?”

“Sure.” She pulled the curtain over the door window and with a gesture too quick to be seen, transformed into a tiger, of the rare “blue” color, slate gray shading into a blue grey on the underside, with black stripes. She transformed back in a few seconds, as a loud meow was heard from the other side of the compartment door.

She slid the door open, and a calico Manx strode into the carriage and leaped on the seat next to Severus.

“Morrigan come back!” A girl with spiky short hair came in. “I’m sorry … “

Eli laughed. “Oh, I love calicos!”

“Aren’t you the Faerie girl?”

“Yes, I am, I’m Eli le Fey, and you are? “

"Alice Addington, how nice to meet you. You don’t shake hands, do you?”

“No, we don’t.” She held out her hands. “We have a spot here on our palms that is very sensitive. We bow. Touching the hands is a very intimate act.

“So why do you all have the same last name?”

“Because we’re what you would call a matriarchal culture, and we are empaths and we don’t need surnames to know who’s who. You know you can only be a Faerie if your mother is one, it’s transmitted on what the Muggles call the mDNA. We use ‘le Fey’ when we are on this side of the mists; I am Eli of Avalon there. We have a lot of Terrans living with us, about a tenth of the population are Terran refugees, they use whatever names they choose. They always change their names when they come to Faerie.”

“My mother told me all the girls had a crush on your dad, and he ran off with a Faerie in San Francisco.“

“No, they met at the hotsprings on the mountain where his mother was born, not too far from Mahatokoto, very old family, helped establish the school. My older sister is there now.”

 

Just then the trolley came by. She pulled a silver coin out of her bag. “I have to learn this currency; how much will this buy? Father told me to start collecting chocolate frog cards. So a dozen of those and two each of everything else and have you got anything the cat would like?”

Two girls peeked in as the trolley moved to the next compartment. Alice said, “Eli, these are my friends Eleutheria and Vivienne. This is Eli le Fey, our new classmate, the Faerie! Isn’t that great? A Faerie!” Eli stood up and bowed. The girls bowed in return.

“Do come in and help us eat all this stuff.”

“So what house do you want to join?” Eleutheria asked.

“Well, my father was a Slytherin, that’s where he met Severus’s mother, they were friends, but in his father’s family, they’ve been in all the houses. Grandfather was a Gryffindor, Great Grandmother was Ravensclaw, they’ve been going to Hogwart’s since the beginning.”

Alice said, I just noticed there is one of each here now. I’m Hufflepuff, Vivienne is Ravensclaw, Eleutheria is Gryffindor and Severus is Slytherin,”

"the Sorting Hat decides? Interesting. We have tests when we reach age 12 and completed our first cycle, takes about a week, then you go on a vision quest in the Territories to help decide on the path to take.”

Severus spoke up. “Eli’s been selected as a Warrior, for the White Tigers. They work with the Guardians of the Pacific.”

“My father’s with the Azure Dragons and he’s been working as what you call an Auror. He moves around a lot … he was assigned some kind of duty with your Ministry, I guess like an ambassador.”

“I read about that. The Daily Prophet says that the treaty negotiations with the Fey are going well,” said Vivienne.  

 

Eli snorted derisively. “I’m not allowed to bring any of my tools, warned not to use any unauthorized Faerie magick on the premises, can’t have my weapons to train with, sent here like some kind of hostage and everyone’s going to be watching me and if I make any mistakes everyone will think it’s because I’m a Faerie and they never should have let ‘our kind’ in the sacred halls of Hogwart’s. You wouldn’t believe all the interrogation I had to go through to get permission to carry my athame! I have to keep it out of sight at all times.”

Eli was looking out the window when the compartment door was flung open, and a group of boys stood at the entrance. “Hey, Snivellus, what’s this I hear about you and the Faerie? Maybe you won’t die a virgin after all.”

“ SHUT UP,” barked Alice. Her cat laid back her ears and hissed at the boys.

Eli turned and in move so swift it could barely be seen, rose and leaped, landing between Severus and the doorway. Her eyes were flashing green sparks. She spoke in a very low voice that seemed to vibrate in the thoracic cavity of those present, “What’s that supposed to mean? No, don’t tell me, I can figure it out, even though I don’t speak ASSHOLE, but where are my manners? Let me introduce myself. I’m Eli le Fey. Who the FUCK are you?”

“You’ve got quite a mouth on you, don’t you, Faerie?”

“Hey, Sirius, back off, come on, let’s go.”

“No, Potter, this freaky purple eyed whore has to learn some manners.”

He stepped towards her reaching for his wand, just as a blast of green came out of her palms that knocked him and the others flat on their backs in the aisle. She glared at Black, lying supine on the floor in a tangle with his friends, and hissed, “Come near me and I’ll kill you. I’m allowed to use defensive magick here. Don’t think I won’t.” She closed the door. “Sure hope I don’t end up in their house.”

“They’re Gryffidors,” Severus said.

“I thought they were supposed to be courageous.”

Vivienne looked somber. “I can see why you won’t shake hands.”

“We don’t have anyone like that in Hufflepuff,” said Alice.

“you know, I just don’t see the point in having houses. It seems divisive.”

“I guess they think competition improves performance,” said Vivienne, “but you may have a point, it does cause conflict.”

Eleutheria spoke up, “I don’t like it when they gang up on you, Severus.”

“Neither do I, said Vivienne. Black is such a blowhard.” She giggled. “Did you see his face when you blasted him?”

Alice laughed loudly. “About time someone did that! Eli, I think I’m going to like having a Faerie around!"

 

A few minutes after the incident the door slid open, and Lily came in.  "Hi, Sev, I saw you at the station but you went through the wall before we could catch up.  My parents say hi."

Severus stood up.  "Eli, this is my friend Lily Evans, Lily, this is Eli le Fay."  

Lily bowed.  Severus had told her the day before about meeting Eli and her family in Diagon Alley, and explained about how Faeries were different. "No touching unless you know them well," he'd said.  He hadn't told her of the instantaneous bond he felt with her when she took his hand.  He didn't understand his own feelings about her.  

Lily was a bit nervous about being around a Faerie.  All of her friends had been sending owls back and forth when the Daily Prophet announced that a Faerie would be attending Hogwarts.  They were said to be merciless warriors, as well as sexually voracious shape changers, full of Dark Magic.  She'd heard the commotion in the aisle when Eli knocked down those four friends.  Remus seemed quite upset and was admonishing Sirius.  "You shouldn't try to hex a Faerie, you idiot."   She didn't want to face James and dodged into the compartment she was next to, running into some friends from Hufflepuff.  

Lily figured it was best not to mention what had happened, she was sure she'd hear their side of it at dinner.  

She knew how much James liked her.  She had, as her grandmother said, "set her cap" for him, and why not?  He was cute, he was rich, and he was a lot of fun, but he needed to stop being so mean to others.  She would change him, for the better, she would make him earn her affection.  He'd have to think she wasn't interested, and that was sometimes difficult.  She had her eyes on the prize, she would outlast him, she would retrain him to be the man she wanted.  

 

 

Eleutheria got up, “We’re almost at the station, I have to go get my things. See you in the Great Hall!“

Alice smiled. “I’m glad I met you, won’t my mother be pleased! She’s very pro Faerie. But you know a lot of people in the Ministry didn’t want any treaty, that’s what Father and Grandmother say.” “Everyone is going to be watching you.”

Eli winced. “I know. I sure did start out well, blasting some of my new schoolmates.“

“They think you’re here to steal ‘our magic’ or some such nonsense. Mother says we have a lot more to learn from you than you have from us. See you!”

"Nice meeting you, Eli!" said Lily and she scurried out of the compartment.  There was something about the Faerie girl that unsettled her.  They could read minds, they said.

“Be seeing you”

 

After the girls had left, Severus turned to Eli. “I should have told you what a pariah I am here. You got in the fight because of me.”

“I know I haven’t known you long, but you are my friend. We stand by our friends. Tell me, what sort of gyms do they have here?”

“Gyms? Well, we play Quiddich. “

“No gyms? And I can’t have my arms to practice with? AND I’m supposed to keep up with coursework the Druids assigned me in battle magick. AND I have to live in a dorm, like I was still a Child in my first cycle.”

“I thought you weren’t allowed to use your magick here.”

“Not allowed to PRACTICE on school grounds but I can STUDY. Are you interested in it?”

“Yes, of course!”

“I’ll learn faster if I have someone to work with. This has to be just between us. Don’t tell anyone. I guess we’re here, now.“ The train slowed and stopped. They moved their baggage to the platform where it was levitated to a carriage pulled by a Thestral.

“Eli le Fey!” called out a man’s voice. He walked up to her and bowed. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Horace Slughorn, your father was one of my favorite students. So how do you know Severus?”

“Ah, yes, Father told me about you, in fact, he sent you a present, I have it in my trunk.”

“Shall we talk in the carriage?” They got in and sat down.

Eli smiled. “I met Severus in Diagon Alley, my father and his mother were friends.”

“Oh, yes, of course, all the girls were in love with your father, even some of the staff, and then he ran away with a Faerie . You look very much like him, my dear. I was even privileged to be invited to his grandparent’s farms for Sunday dinner. Your father very graciously invited many of the students and staff.”

“Great grandmother and I talked about that, it’s still on, but I’m not going to be as popular as my father, I’m afraid. Already had a run in with some bullies. I’ve read the letters to the editor in the Daily Prophet. I know a lot of folks don’t want my kind here. If it hadn’t been for the fact my father is a Morgan I’d never have been admitted.”

“I think you’re being a bit unfair.” “Perhaps, I haven’t spent much time on this side of the mists, but my mother has, and my father lives in both realms, and he warned me about how Terrans behave in groups.”

“Who was it, Severus?”

He scowled and looked down so his hair covered his face. “Who do you think? Black, Lupin, Potter and Pettigrew. They came after me and Eli defended me.”

“They talked smack about him and the Fey, and Black actually tried to put his hands on me so I hit him, not hard, just knocked him down and the others went down with him. Guess they didn’t know what fighting like a Faerie means; now they do.”

“I’m sure Black didn’t mean anything really bad, he’s from a very good family.“

“Then he has no excuse for such poor manners, does he?” She opened her trunk and rooted around for a bit, and pulled out a wooden box. “Here we are.” She handed him the box. He opened it and inside was a large crystal bottle filled with golden fluid. ”Mead made from honey made from the apple blossoms of Avalon. Mother brewed it. Very strong; sip it slowly, it has hallucinogenic and prophetic powers.”

“Thank you! How thoughtful.“

“So next I get sorted, right? And the hat tells me where to go?”

“Yes, have you thought about what house you’d like to be in?”

“Father says because I’m what you call a Parseltongue I’ll get Slytherin, like him.”

“Well, that’s not the only reason, but I would be delighted if you got into Slytherin!”

“Do I really have to live in the dorm?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so, for at least this term.”

“In Avalon, the children live together in dorms and at age 12 you get your first place on your own, so this is like being sent back to the children’s house. But I suppose since I’m training for military duty I’d have to spend a lot of time in close quarters with others. A lot of my friends back home think I’m barking mad to come here, considering the history, but it was a long time ago,"  

 

"Here we are, welcome to Hogwarts, Eli.  Severus, I leave our Faerie friend in your care."  Horace toddled away to the Great Hall, cradling the box in his arms.  The mead was worth a Warlock's ransom.  

"You lived in a Children's house, not with your parents?"  

"Yes, children all live in one building, and our families come to us.  Everyone over 12 has their own space, kind of like a flat, they call it here, in Avalon. when you’re 12, you get evaluated and get your place. Mine is near the training center for soldiers.”

“Don’t your parents live together?”

“We don’t ‘marry’ like you Terrans, but my parents are pair bonded. They live next door to each other. Of course Father has to travel a lot. Sometimes she goes with him.”

“I wish I could see Avalon.” 

“I’m allowed to invite friends for visits.”

 

They entered the Hall, Severus went to the Slytherin table while Eli went to the end of the line of first year students seated along the wall. She sat on the last chair in the corner, a few feet away from the younger students, who eyed her nervously. She smiled faintly and began to look at the room, slowly, without meeting the eyes of anyone in the Hall who was staring at her. Dumbledore stood at the podium and the students slowly became silent.

Welcoming speech//Sorting Hat.

  
After the first year students had been sorted, the students began talking, welcoming the new students, and Dumbledore made another announcement. “Some of you know that we have a special student joining us this term, the first Faerie to be admitted to Hogwart’s, Eli le Fey. She was admitted two years ago, but had to complete her primary education before she could be allowed to transfer here. I’m sure you will all join me, and everyone at Hogwart’s in making her feel welcome. “Eli, if you would.”

She sat on the stool, and Dumbledore placed the hat on her. “oh my oh my, a Faerie,“ the hat said to her.  

Minutes ticked by. The staff seated at the head table leaned forward. The Hall became quiet, as the students all began to whisper to each other, as every eye in the Hall was focused on Eli. The Hat called out ‘SLYTHERIN’ and Eli gave it back to Dumbledore, and sat at the Slytherin table next to Severus, on his left side.

“Everyone’s staring at me, aren’t they?” she whispered to him.

“They’ll stop once all the food gets here,” and so it was

Professor Slughorn came down from the podium to congratulate her. “My dear, you set a record, six minutes, three seconds. It’s the first case of four way hatblock ever, Dumbledore says.” “Well, I am one of a kind here,” she said. He signaled to the prefect. “Rafaela, make sure Eli is taken care of.”

For the next hour the feast continued. Eli picked at the food and deflected questions, ignored stares and whispered comments, wearing the same faint smile as she chatted with those seated near her. Eventually they were herded to their dorms. Severus walked at Eli’s side as they descended into the dungeons. “Did you mean what you said about visiting Faerie?”

“Of course, once we’re allowed on the other side of the mists we can bring back guests. How do I send an owl? I have to tell Father what house I got in.”

“After you get shown your room, come back to the Common Room and I’ll show you. I’ve heard the military all use ravens as messengers.”

“Yes, about two thousand years back they all standardized, based on Odin Allfather’s ravens. It makes it easier when we work together. They can go through the mists.”

 

They reached the Commons room and were sent to their respective dorms, where their trunks had been moved. “le Fey, follow me,” said the female prefect. “You’re in my room, you’ll like it”

“It’s going to take some getting used to, looking out the window into water. It’s so green in here. Father said he liked it, but then, he’s a Dragon. Told me to look for the squid, now I know what he meant. She opened her trunk and took out some paper, an inkstone, an ink stick and a brush, shut the lid, waved her hand over it to lock it, and went back to the Commons room.

She sat at a table near the fire, opened her bag and removed what looked like a large silver compact, a small glowing sphere, and set them on the table. The compact opened to reveal a concave black mirror on one side and the other side folded down to make a stand, where she place a tiny pinch of powder, which sparked purple and faded.

  
“What’s that?” Severus asked as he pulled a chair up next to her.

“It’s a portable scrying mirror, my mother made it for me. I can use it to talk to Mother in Faerie, I don’t do any scrying yet. Too dangerous at my age, you have to be old enough to understand the patterns and that takes time to learn. The only really good prophets are the Elders. Besides, The Crone keeps telling us, the future is mutable, you can make changes before probabilities become inevitabilities, and the best prophets are those whose word is heeded before the disaster hits, so you can avoid or minimize the damage.”

“I’m surprised they let you have that here.”

“My mother went to the Ministry and insisted, since owls can’t go through the Mists that this be allowed. My mother always gets her way. She’s like that.” The mirror filled with a translucent cloud, which cleared to reveal the face of Emerald le Fey.

“Eli! So you’re in Slytherin. And Severus, how nice to see you again. By the way, dear, I’m making out the invitation list for the Samhain celebration, let me know who else you’d like to invite. Severus, I’m sending invitations to your mother and you. Sorry, I have to go, I’m right in the middle of forging a blade. Be safe, daughter.”

Eli shut the compact and put it back in the bag. She picked up the sphere and walked to a window. She held out the sphere at arm’s length, where it floated, and she turned and faced the sphere while standing framed by the window. Just then, the giant squid appeared, and she said, “One, two, three” smiled and the sphere flashed.

“That was good timing,” said the Bloody Baron, who had appeared to include himself in the picture. Eli retrieved the sphere and went back to the table. She placed it on the piece of rice paper and immediately a picture appeared in the middle.

 

Eli ground the ink and added water. “Why do you do that? Can’t you cast a spell?” “The stone and the ink are already charmed, to do this right, you have to focus your thoughts and think in Japanese.” She picked up the brush and carefully loaded it with ink, then wrote a line of script down each side of the picture. She repeated the process to create a picture on another piece of paper. She used the brush and the rest of the ink to write, in Runic. “It’s to Father at the Ministry. Proof I saw the squid.” She finished the letters, folded them, sealed them and told Severus, “Now, let’s send these off.”

“We have to climb to the top of a tower,”

“Good, at least I’ll get some exercise … I just can’t believe there isn’t even a gym here.” She set a fast pace up the stairs. By the time they got to the Owlery, Severus was gasping for breath but Eli was not even breathing hard. “Don’t feel bad, I’ve been doing a lot of physical training over the summer.” Eli looked over the lake. She pointed and said, “My great grandmother’s’ farm is there. Grandfather Morgan prefers to live on Torayama with Grandmother. They run an inn at the hotsprings near the shrine. That’s where they met, and that’s where my parents met.”

“How about you?”

She scowled. “I’m not a breeder, I’m a soldier. Somebody has to keep the Realms safe for everyone and I’ve got a singularly single nature. Only some women are mothers, they have the right temperaments, are of suitable breeding stock, and have jobs that aren’t dangerous and they can stay put. Mother is a crafter, she makes tools of magic. Like that mirror. So how do I pick an owl?” Severus showed her the process, and she paid the owls and they walked back to the dungeon, Eli avoided the stares of the other students in the hallways. At one point she heard students hissing at her as they passed.

So did Professor Magonagall, who stepped in and collared two students. “I heard that,” she said. “And you’re Gryffindors, for shame! Ten demerits for Gryffindor.”

 

As they neared the Commons Room, Eli turned to Severus, “This is horrible. I’ve never been so alone. There aren’t any of my kind here. It’s not that I don’t like Terrans, but I’ve never been anywhere I’m the only one and there is no one to reach with my mind.”

“I’m not sure I can really understand, but I know what it’s like to be alone here, with no one you can trust. My whole life has been like that.” She stopped and looked into his eyes. “I can’t imagine what you mean by reaching someone’s mind.“

“May I?” she said. She reached out and touched his 3rd eye with her finger. Severus staggered and Eli grabbed him around the waist so he wouldn’t fall over. “I can do that. And I can hear a lot of thoughts … I think you call it occu …

“Occlumency is blocking, legilimency is hearing the thoughts of others.”

“I am never going to get all these terms straight. We call it mentalics, it’s the study of psionics. Some of the Elders, you can’t block them at all and they can rip your brain to shreds just looking at you.”

“Must keep you honest.”

“Yeah, why bother trying to get away with anything if you know you’ll get caught? And besides, how can you attack an empath who knows your intention? We don’t have a lot of rules to break, though. The Terran refugees cause some incidents, and there are conflicts between species and within species, so we do have to have a legal system to sort things out and resolve differences. Only two punishments, execution and banishment. The former is considered far less a punishment than the latter. You can be exiled to one of the islands near the southern pole. For minor misconduct, you have to go explore the Territories alone, do work details, pay restitution. We can’t be bothered with prisons.”

  
They heard loud footsteps coming down the hall,  Lupin’s voice saying, “No, Sirius, you were wrong.”

Eli grabbed Severus and yanked him to a window ledge, and made a motion with her hand, “just pulling down a shadow, stand still,” she whispered.

“Old Slughorn was all over her,” said Sirius Black.”

“Yes,” said Lupin, “I just spoke to him, he told me to NEVER try to touch a Faerie, and NEVER in any way, shape, or fashion, insult her mother, or her father, friends or any of their clan. Did you know she’s training for Warrior, with the White Tigers of the West Guardian Force? And her father was a prefect in Slytherin, and his father’s family goes WAY back BEFORE Hogwarts? Or that his mother traces back over 2,000 years on Torayama, and helped found Makoutokono? And that he is an Azure Dragon? So you really pissed off the wrong Faerie , Black, you’d best back off.”

“Aw, all I want is to take her to the Beltane fire, know what I mean?” He laughed.

Severus felt Eli stiffen. The group walked past and when they turned to go up a stairway, Eli waved her hand and pulled him out of the window sill. “What did you just do?” he asked.

“We call it pulling down a shadow, it makes you blend in to the background.”

“Like Morgaine did when she stole the scabbard?”

“Hey, it was on loan from Avalon and he betrayed them and we got it back in the end”

“Is it true he’s buried on Avalon?”

“Wait until Samhain and see for yourself.”

“Are you going to invite anyone else?”

“Yes, Alice, her cat and her mother. It’s like this, Severus, it’s politics, and we’re just kids, we’re pawns in this game. The Fey are trying to show how nice we can be, but we’re being very selective.”

“And you are asking Alice because of her cat,”

“Yes, of course. She led Alice to me. Her mother likes us and her mother will tell the other mothers here. That’s how you infiltrate.”

“You don’t trust the Ministry.” She looked at him and touched her lips. _[best not to discuss things like that here]_ Severus smiled at her _._

 

When they got back to the Commons room, the Prefect stepped up and suggested that she unpack and she’d help her get settled in. They went up to the highest level of dorm room. “It’s the largest because it’s for the Prefect. We have our own bathroom. Is there anything you want?” “Where can I exercise? It’s bad enough I can’t have any weapons, but I do have to stay in shape. During term breaks I have to go back and train with my unit. I won’t be able to keep up.”

“We play Quiddich,”

“No, that’s not really my thing. I play baseball and we have a version of polo, full contact polo in battle armor, more like American football on horseback, I suppose. It’s to get us used to taking hits. I haven’t got my own horse yet, but I’ve taken riding lessons since before I could walk. And this place doesn’t have a stable, but there are lots of horses at Great Grandmother’s place.”

“oooh, I’d love to see that.“

“Sure, on Sunday Great Grandmother is calling the clan to welcome me to the family farm. Slughorn is invited and he always loves to suck up to Great Grandmother. Look, I’m supposed to be some kind of hostage/ambassador … and there are a lot of people who don’t think I should be here.” “That’s why Dumbledore put you in my room.” “Protective custody, eh?” Eli laughed. “So you will come Sunday? Most of my Terran family will be there, and my mother, too. Do you like Muggle music? Like rock and roll?”

“I don’t know, my parents won’t let me listen to it.”

“My father plays guitar. Mother says that’s why she picked him. He’s done some studio in America and Japan, he had a blues rock band in London in the fifties and early sixties. He can get tickets to shows in London, Glasgow and Edinburg if you want to go along sometime.”

“Maybe, I’ve never seen London, my parents keep me sheltered. I can’t wait to graduate, get a job, get my own place. She looked at Eli. “You know I have a sister your age. She’s in Ravensclaw. You met her on the train.”

Rafaela walked over to Eli’s bed and sat on a corner. “I’m not prying but how do you know Severus Snape?”

“I met him in Diagon Alley, I was there with my parents and he was there with his mother. They were in the same class, and they were good friends. Father was very popular, you know.

“With Severus, it’s a Fey thing, you wouldn’t understand. We can judge other creatures quickly, it’s rather difficult to fool one of us. It’s like how animals size up other animals, we rely more on smell, visual cues, voice patterns, empathic rather than telepathic. And of course we have the Druid’s teaching on mind control. So when I saw him, it was like I recognized him and just liked him immediately. He’s gotten some bad breaks in life.”

“I heard you knocked down Sirius Black and his pals on the train when they came after him.”

“Yeah, what’s up with all the bullying in this school? It’s so stereotypical, like something out of Monty Python or Evelyn Waugh. I thought that the Magi would be better than the Muggles. Besides, that Black gives me the creeps.“

Rafaela got up and went back to her trunk, and began putting her things in their place. “I hope you don’t mind sharing your room with me, you’re supposed to have a private room.”

“Oh, no, I am happy to be able to learn about the Fey. We know so little about you, but you know so much about us. By the way, I should warn you, Black has a younger brother in Slytherin, Regulus, it’s his first year. He’s not much like his brother at all, I’ve heard.. He knows how to keep his distance, or he will shortly.”

Eli smiled. “I figured it wouldn’t take long to get that story spread around the school, I am already sick of the shit the boys are talking about me and Faerie women all those lurid tales told by religious crackpots to justify killing the Fey and running us out of the realm as if ANY of them would be invited to the Fires in the first place! It was the Terrans who turned the Fires into bacchanalias, misusing the power as always. The Terrans needed to stop inbreeding, which is one good reason to get together with people from other clans, that was the purpose of May Fairs. Of course we don’t randomly breed with anyone, the Mothers carefully choose which woman, and which sire, will be used. My father was ‘recruited’ by my mother because he was such a powerful wizard AND a bard. Faerie women are suckers for bards, let me tell you.“

“So what’s Beltane like?”

“I dunno, I’m too young, never been, but it’s a lot of music, dancing, and getting ripped to the tits and stoned to the bone, as I’ve heard it said, just a big party and whatever happens in private happens. The Fey are fertile only at that time, so sex is involved, of course, but it’s not what Terrans think,, we don’t dance around naked, why would you? When there are so many beautiful things to wear?”

“How old do you have to be to go?”

“Seventeen.” “I’ll be seventeen next month.” “Then you wouldn’t need permission to go, would you?”

“No.”

“Ask my mother on Sunday about getting an invitation. I can ask only a few visitors because we always have a lot of people coming to town for the major festivals. Beltane is quite popular, as you can imagine.”

 

She opened a wardrobe and began to unpack her clothes. Then she carefully arranged books on a shelf near a desk. She stowed all the writing equipment and other school supplies in the desk drawers, with parchments in a holder with sealing wax and a seal, several boxes made of various materials, pens and brushes, an inkstone, ink sticks, and bottled inks. When things were put in order, she went back to the trunk, pulled out a bookbag and set it on her bed. Then she dumped her handbag and carefully repacked it, putting most of its contents in the trunk. She picked up the Potions, Charms, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts texts and put them in the bag. “Dark Arts, what a load of bollocks. We don’t call any magick light or dark, it just is. I’m supposed to learn a lot of killing spells, rituals, and potions, because that’s what we do in the military. Discernment is what matters. I looked over this text …nothing I can use that I don’t already know.”

She removed parcels wrapped in silk and put them in the bookbag. “What are those?”

“Bribes to the professors, it’s one way the Fey get y’all not to hurt us, we give presents.”

“you’re very organized.”

“Yes, I got out of Basic Training not long ago and they taught us how to live like soldiers. You keep your bag packed and your uniform ready to put on before you go to sleep. Tell me, have you decided what you’ll be doing when you graduate?”

“Medical training. Mother said I should be a doctor”

“You should like my older sister, she’s a Healer and she wants to specialize in magical creatures.”

“Do you get along with her?”

Eli sighed. “Not really. She’s so beautiful, she’s so gifted, she’s a tough act to follow. She is a Universal Linguist, she can speak the languages of all creatures, it’s a rare talent. She is a Conscientious Objector, she doesn’t like that I’m training to be a Warrior. Eli laid out the clothes for the next day, then picked up a sponge bag, a nightgown and a robe and went to the bathroom, emerging in ten minutes, and went to her bed. “I’m tired, it was a long day and tomorrow will be longer. Good night.” She pulled closed the bedcurtains.

 

She woke the next morning at first light. The room was still dark, lit with a luminous green glow from the water outside the window. She quickly got dressed, made the bed, picked up her bag and silently left the room, going down the stairs to the Common Room, which was empty and lit with only the light from the fireplace. She was slowly examining the room, the furniture, and the various decorations when Severus entered. “You’re up early.”

“Your eyes … so beautiful when they reflect light, like you have the aurora borealis inside your eyes.”

“Thank you. I couldn’t sleep.”

“I like to watch the sun rise. Want to come along?” “Sure.” They went up the stairs to the main floor, and Severus led her up several stairways to a covered walkway between towers. The sky began to lighten and the water on the lake, reflected the colors through the mists. They watched in silence as the sun cleared the horizon and the colors faded.

“Let’s go get some breakfast, I like to get there before everyone else.”

“Excellent.”

Severus smiled at her. “All of a sudden everyone in Slytherin likes me, because of you. They were asking a lot of questions … I didn’t tell them much. It got out that your mother is inviting me to Samhain in Avalon.”

“Are they jealous?”

“Incredibly.”

 

They got to the Great Hall, and Eli walked to the corner of the room and sat at the end of the bench closest to the wall, near the High Table. “I like to have my back against the wall and to see the entrance at all times. You can sit next to me and block for me.” There were a few students scattered among the tables. She opened her book bag and took out the Potions text and a quill. “OK, let’s go over the first potion”

They spent the next hour reviewing the lesson material, as Eli tried to learn to pronounce the words correctly and memorize the properties of the ingredients. The Hall slowly filled with students but no one sat near them. Rafaela sat across from them and helped herself to food. “You two need to eat.” They took her advice. “Snape, take le Fey down to the Potions classroom, show her where everything is before class starts.”

Eli and Severus picked up their bags and went to the classroom. Professor Slughorn opened the door, and they walked in. Eli went to a seat in the back of the room in the corner. “You don’t have to sit in the back, my dear,” the professor said.

“I feel more comfortable here. I don’t like having people behind my back, I guess.”

“I’m sorry to hear that; don’t you trust any of the other students?”

She grimaced. One of the things I learned in Basic Training was to always keep my back to the wall and have a clear view of the entrance. It becomes a habit, and a good one, considering what my future is. I agreed that I would not use legimency or whatever you call it here. I wouldn’t look in anyone’s minds, no mental probing, no thought projection. We learn to block our thoughts, and not peek, it’s rude to do so. But the students here; their thoughts are as insistent and penetrating as a baby crying. It’s almost impossible not to hear. I have to listen to music to block it out. I really don’t want to know what they’re thinking. I just need to keep some distance, I don’t like to be crowded. Besides, they don’t like to be near me! I would like to ask a favor, would you assign Severus to sit next to me? I need help and he’s the best in the class.”

“Certainly.”

Students began to come into the classroom, and they all began to sit as far away as possible. “Anything else?”

“Oh, this is from Great Grandmother,” and she took out a small bundle of green silk tied with silver thread. Slughorn pulled the thread, and the silk fluttered open, and an origami bird flew into the air, singing like a nightingale. It flew around his head, then after a burst of song, unfolded into a sheet of rice paper that floated down to his hands. “How lovely. It’s an invitation from your great grandmother to dinner on Sunday.”

“Yes, I’m being officially welcomed by the Family. I’m supposed to invite some students and of course my instructors. You know how Great Grandmother is.”

“She is a lovely and powerful witch, we go back a long time, you know.”

Eli smiled crookedly. “I’ve heard some stories.”

 

Vivienne, Alice and Amber walked in, scanned the room, and sat down next to Severus. “good morning, Eli, Severus, “ Vivienne said. “So you’re rooming with my older sister? She’s not so bad, once you get to know her.”

Eli smiled. “You’re all invited to Great Grandmother’s farm this Sunday, they’re having a party to welcome me. My dad is bringing a band, you can see the stables. Great Grandmother is sending the coach and there will be horses to ride,”

At that point Professor Slughorn began the class, instructing them to open to the first potion recipe in the book. “Let’s just jump right in and begin, “ he said. Open your texts to the first potion, and let’s get started!” Slughorn strolled the classroom, watching the students. At the end of class, he congratulated everyone at Eli’s table for correctly brewing the potions, “due to Mr. Snape’s talent, no doubt,”

  
The next class was Care of Magical Creatures. She hurried with Severus to the gamekeeper’s cottage, arriving before most of the students. She avoided the small knot of students and walked to the fenced enclosure. At the far end a unicorn grazed. She cried out a cooing trill, and the unicorn raised her head, whinnied, and galloped over to her. The unicorn sniffed Eli’s hand, then nuzzled her face. The instructor, Prof Silvanus Kettleburn, opened the door to the cottage and walked over to Eli.

“So you can call a unicorn, le Fey?”

“But of course. There are always unicorns living at the Children’s Campus. When the unicorns get old and don’t like to make the trek from the plains to the mountains, they come to live in Avalon with us, and they like to play with children. They are so comforting, you know how it is when you’re a little kid and you don’t understand what’s going on, if you go tell a unicorn they make you feel better. They help the healers, they donate blood for medicine.”

“Could you demonstrate how to speak to a unicorn for the class? Gather ‘round, students.”

Eli repeated the cry, and the unicorn echoed it. “That’s how you say hello.” She reached over the fence and scratched the unicorn behind the ears. “We have a lot of unicorns in Faerie, compared to this realm. They tell us when we’re children that the first of the Fey to find Faerie were led there by unicorns, who made the realm magical by their presence.”

Prof K opened the gate and the unicorn walked out to stand between him and Eli. The professor discussed the properties of unicorns, their blood, hair, and horns, and at the end of the session invited the class members to approach the unicorn.. Lily went first, and the unicorn allowed her to stroke her neck. Severus followed her and the unicorn sniffed his cheek and bent her head to get her ears scratched. Eleutheria Jones approached next, and the unicorn gazed into her eyes and nickered. Three more students tentatively held out their hands to be sniffed and were allowed to pet her on the neck.

When Potter and Black came forward, she laid back her ears and cantered back to the forest. “They prefer women, as you’ve just seen,” said the professor.

“No wonder it liked Snivellus,” said Potter, just loud enough to be heard. Black laughed.

“I haven’t noticed that in Faerie,” Eli said. “But then, there is far less gender dimorphism with the Fey than with the Terrans, and males are quite a bit more well mannered than what I have witnessed in this realm. There are more differences within the genders than between them, and then some of us are both. Or neither.”

“So which are you, le Fey?” said Black.

“More man than you’ll ever be and more woman than you’ll ever get, Black.” Eli said, in low, lethal voice.

After class was dismissed with an assignment to write an essay about unicorns, Eli and Severus went to Defense Against the Dark Arts. The other students had left the seats in the rear corner open. “He’s new here. Every year they have a new professor for this class, I don’t know why they can’t find anyone who can hold on to the job,” he said. The classroom slowly filled up. Eleutheria and Alice came in and sat next to Severus.

Prof Clary Sage walked into the classroom and surveyed the class. His eyes stopped on Eli. “Miss le Fey.” She stood up. “You needn’t stand. We aren’t formal here.”

She sat back down with a smile. “Oh, well, when a Druid calls you out in class, you stand up, as a sign of respect.”

“Have you had a chance to review the text?”

“Yes, I have. I’m having some trouble with the language, you know, we never use Latin or its derivatives. I’m not sure I agree with the rhetoric, calling some magic dark, since it’s really about the intent of the user. I have to train in death magic, battle magic, and necromancy, I have to kill those beings whose existence threatens others, but I have to remember karma. We are taught that disobeying what is called the Golden Rule is bad by its nature. So, killing can be a good use of magic, whereas love potions and spells are always bad, for the same reason as the Imperious Curse. It’s wrong to use, abuse, or exploit any sentient being, and when death is the only option to stop harm, kill cleanly and humanely.”

There was a murmur from the classroom. The professor smiled. “So love is bad and death is good?” Eli tilted her head and gave the professor a direct look. He blinked.

“I grew up in Avalon. We know what happened to Merlin and Nimue. No good has ever come of misusing the power of magic to get laid,” some of the class laughed, “it’s so tawdry. And we kill daemons and those in their thrall because you Terrans can’t, because they can control your minds better than you can. Only the Terran Guardians can fight them, after training with the Druids in mind control and wearing protective armor and reflector shields. I would say the problem with what you call the dark arts is intellectual dishonesty; you have to fool yourself into thinking that doing harm is acceptable when you do it, but not when it’s done to you.”

“And how do you tell the difference?”

“By developing discernment, I suppose. I’m still developing, I rely on those around me with more knowledge and experience to guide me. I’m informed that it’s of greatest importance to learn to leave your ego behind, but at certain life stages it’s more of a challenge. The danger is to be self serving and attempting to control what you should just deal with seems to be a problem with many people. They use backward logic to find reasons to do as they want, rather than use logic to decide the best course of action. That’s what my research and limited personal experience has demonstrated. If you can provide me with evidence I have not considered, or point out any flaws in my reasoning, I would appreciate it.”

Everyone in the class was staring at her. Severus smiled at her and squeezed her hand under the desk. The professor stared at Eli, who stared back, then shook his head and told the class to open the text to the first chapter. After class, Eli and Severus went to lunch. “You were magnificent, Eli.”

“Thank you! Father says I have to be careful. It isn’t in my best interests to let them know what I can do. You understand if we study together, this has to be completely secret? Father and Grandmother say that no one should know what weapons you bear, what methods you know, until you are using them.”

“I’m good at keeping secrets. Do you know what the Fidelius Charm is? The Unbreakable Vow?”

“I think so.”

“I’ll take those, if you’ll teach me your magic.”

“I’d best ask Father to do it. He has to know because he’s in on it, too. We just don’t want too many people in this realm to be aware of the extent of our abilities. And you do realize, what happens in Faerie stays in Faerie.”

“I’ve heard some people say that your powers don’t work here. I would imagine you’d like them to keep thinking that.”

Eli grinned. “I knew I could trust you.”

The next class was Transfigurations. Prof M called her to the front of the class and sat her down. “Class, this is Eli le Fey. I have known her father’s family as long as I’ve been here. She grew up in Avalon, taught by Druids, and is in training to become a White Tiger of the West, which is, as you should know, one of the Four Guardians in Asia and the Pacific Rim. I am aware of the controversy about allowing her to attend Hogwarts. That is not an issue. She’s here, she’s Fey, get used to it. I will not tolerate any intolerance towards her. So, why don’t you tell us about what you know about Transfiguring? Your father assures me you are up to speed on the curriculum for this level, that you have begun conjuration.”

“I was using my own wands then. One thing that is hard for me to get used to is that the work here is all done with wands and I’m used to using a lot of different tools, but all of them were banned from the campus. I am allowed to carry my athame but I have to keep it under my clothes and not use it, unless instructed by a professor.”

“Show me.”

Eli reached into her shirt and removed it from its scabbard over her heart. It was a double edged dagger, with a plain black handle so dark no light was reflected. The blade was an almost crystalline white metal that refracted the light, throwing off prisms. “I use this for a lot of things, healing, transformations …it carries a lot of protective magic with it. We never are without our athames. Wands are used for certain types of magic, and different tasks require different wands. All of my weapons are tools of magic.” She replaced the blade. “We also do what you’d call ‘body magic’ and of course a great deal of ritual magic, which I know you don’t do here at all. I’ll get a lot better with wands, my father tells me. But I am not going to transfigure any living creature unless it is sentient and gives informed consent. It’s a part of my religion. Our laws are based on species equality.”

Lunch was next, and as with breakfast, Slytherins avoided sitting close to Eli, and only Severus and Rafaela sat in her corner. Both had a free period after lunch and Eli asked to go to the library. When they got there, Eli stopped and looked around her, at the towering shelves of books. She grinned and inhaled deeply. “I love it,” she whispered. “All of the knowledge in one place, I can’t wait to get started.” She walked to the main desk and introduced herself to the librarian, bowed and handed the lady two books. “My father sent you these books. One is the textbook we use about the history of Faerie, in Runic, of course, and the second is his first book published by the College of Druids, on the connection between Muggle and Wizard psychohistory in Terra.”

The librarian picked up the books and held them to her chest. “Thank you, le Fey, thank you. I remember your father so well, he was so handsome, you look just like him. He still plays guitar, doesn’t he?”

“Of course, he’ll be playing at the Farm on Sunday, you’re invited to dinner if you’d like to come, he’ll be playing with a band of Faerie bards. They’re sending a coach and riding horses.”

The librarian beamed at Eli. “Snape, show le Fey around. If I can help you in any way, just ask.”

Eli smiled. “I could use some nice private places to study without being bothered, if it’s not too much to ask.”

“Of course not, I know just the spot.” She escorted them to a corner and handed Eli a key. The key opened a small wooden door, which opened to an office with a window overlooking the lake. “I don’t use this office anymore, you can keep the key,” she said.

Eli bowed. “Thank you, this is perfect.”

 

The librarian went back to her post and Eli shut the door. “This is our study spot, Severus. We can study here, and practice at the Farm.”

“The window’s got a good view of the grounds. And no one knows we’re here, it’s a good spot to have,” Severus said. “I brought the book with me.”

“It’s the oldest textbook we have, it’s the original spellbook of one of the first settlers here. You don’t speak Runic, you just read it, correct?”

“Yes, you speak the original tongue?”

“Enough to make the spells work, if you mispronounce the words they don’t work.”

“I noticed.”

“You read Runes well enough?”

“Mother taught me by reading her book of stories and translating,” he said. “We tried to get through this book together.”

“Did your grandfather tell you where he got it?”

“He said he got it from his father,” Severus said. “He doesn’t get along with my father, and told my mother not to marry him. She didn’t want to have me out of wedlock, I guess, and married him anyway. Grandfather is an Old Believer, he never married my grandmother, and she left him not long after Mother was born. It was a Mayfair pairing, they were not compatible. Grandfather said he had nothing against Muggles but he didn’t want his daughter to marry one.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. I feel like I’ve known you a long time, and I trust you.”

Eli looked in his eyes and smiled. “I’m glad you feel that way, that’s how I feel about you. I’m honored you trust me.

 

Eli picked up the book and opened it to the first page. "It's instructions on how to get your mind in the right place to do magic. The first line means don't waste magic on the mundane. You need to stay grounded to keep your ego from interfering, and that's why you don't use magic to cook or clean, you need to stay connected to the real world. It's our belief you must always clean up your own mess, and that inequality began when one class of people decided it was acceptable to leave huge messes and compel others to clean up after them. Mostly women in this realm. If you have to clean up after yourself, you learn not to leave a mess."

Severus smiled. "My mother used to say that."

"I don't like how wizards use enslaved house elves, no wonder they get so full of themselves. It's no wonder that so much magic in this realm goes wrong. The first thing you have to do is clean your work space, clear your mind, and only then proceed." She put the key on the table and took out her wand. "Let's see if I have this spell down," she said, and replicated the key. She handed Severus one key. Then she used the wand to cast a privacy spell to block anyone from looking through the window or listening through the door. "I'll bring in some floo powder and we can use this fireplace to get to my loft, and bring in a scrying mirror to keep watch on the place."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Under construction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Under construction, Eli tries to fit in unsuccessfully at school

Severus and Eli were going over the day’s potion at breakfast when Prof D came over and sat across from Eli. “Today you’re excused from your classes to go on a ‘field trip.’ Firenze, the Centaur, has asked to meet you. Hagrid will escort you and you can bring a friend.”

“Firenze? Wants to meet me? I’m honored! Won’t Older Sister be jealous! Severus, you must come along!” Eli dashed back to her room to pick up some apples, a couple of honey cakes and herbs in a small bag. They then went to the game keeper’s cottage where the professor and Hagrid were waiting for them. The professor asked them what they knew of Firenze.

“He is a legend among healers, and my sister is a great admirer of him. She’s also fiercely opposed to the policies the Ministry has towards the Centaurs. It is blatant speciesism of the worst kind, she says. Just because they live the way they always have and won’t sell out their values. Yeah, some of ‘em are mean, but they tend to stay to themselves so if you don’t go looking for trouble with ‘em you won’t get it. I wish I could have brought my bow; I might have been able to get a few tips on my archery.”

Hagrid asked, “Do you have them in Faerie?”

“We have a few; most Centaurs are reluctant to move to our realm because the stars are not the same and they don’t want to leave their homelands, but they’ve been forced out of most of their lands so some have relocated. They insisted on their own island and no contact with Terrans. I have to admit I was shocked at how the Ministry has treated them. Don’t they realize how much the Centaurs have to offer? All they want is some space, I don’t think that’s too much to ask. And they’re more humane than most of the humans I’ve met since I moved here.”

 

The group set out to the forest. “You look so much like your father,” said Hagrid. ' he had a gift with magical creatures.”

“Father remembers you, and he said you got railroaded by Riddle, you weren’t the first or last of his victims. He’s not a fan of the Ministry’s idea of justice, to put it mildly. The victim clearly was not killed by an arachnid, you didn’t have representation or a proper hearing. The truth outed itself when Riddle pushed things too far.”

“Water under the bridge, I guess,” said Hagrid.

“It’s still not right, what about all the other victims of judicial malpractice, past, present, and future?”

“Just like your father, a crusader. Not that it’s a bad thing, mind you.”

“Truth prevails, but sometimes it takes a while.”

 

They walked into the woods, following a faint path. Before they had gone too far, Eli spotted a unicorn and called to her. The unicorn cantered up to the group. Eli opened her bag and took out an apple and a honey cake, which she gave to Severus. “Feed it to her,” she said. She handed the apple to Hagrid. “Then give her this apple, it’s from Avalon.” As they fed the unicorn, Eli turned to the path, as Firenze cantered up to them. Eli bowed, and the Centaur returned the bow.

“It’s been a long time since any of your kind walked these woods,” said the Centaur. “The two leggers said they killed all of you, then they began enslaving and degrading all the magical creatures. You got out when the going was good, Faerie.”

“We’ve heard about the problems here, they don’t seem to be getting any better.”

“Are you here to help?”

“What do you think? We can’t act, all we can do is investigate and instigate at this point.”

“And you brought the Prince in Black. You are his shield, and he and the White Wizard will tend the Flower’s Child who will lead the Soulless One to oblivion.”

“It’s going to be bad, isn’t it? The Crone let me see in the scrying pool. I’m sure she’d like to talk to you.” Eli dug in her bag and came up with the pouch ground herbs. “If you put a pinch of this in a pool of water, it will connect you to Avalon.”

“It’s tragically amusing how those two leggers are so immune to the effects of their behavior, and how resistant they are to listen to prophecy, how their unearned sense of superiority made them so stupid.”

“I can’t believe the laws the Ministry in this region have, they are so speciesist, it’s hard not to just want to smack them sometimes, they even discriminate against and segregate their own kind for having even the slightest variance from some assumed norm.”

“They are a difficult species to like, and impossible to live with. They crowd out everything and everyone else, like a creeping rot on the face of Gaia.”

“You’re telling me, they collaborated with their own conquerors to kill my people, tried to destroy thousands of years of knowledge, won’t even heed the words of the prophets.”

“And so here you come to their rescue.”

“Not really, since our realms are connected, the echoes of destruction are felt in my realm too, so we have to try for our own good.”

“Are they worth saving?”

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean we can’t at least help their species die out with some dignity, try to save what we can before they destroy everything.”

 

That Sunday at noon Eli gathered with her friends at the castle entrance, and were joined by the professors and the librarian. Takeshi Morgan rode up to the group leading a string of horses followed by a coach pulled by a team of matched silver grey Arabians in a four in hand hitch, driven by Jeanne-Marie le Fey. “I call shotgun!” said Rafaela.

Prof M selected a tall flaxen chestnut thoroughbred, and the girls looked over the string of various breeds.

“I’ve never ridden before,” Severus told Eli.

“Wanna try? You can ride Helgi, he’s the Icelandic pony over there. He’s little but very very strong. And it’s closer to the ground if you fall off.” She called to the pony, who came over to her. “You don’t have to do anything, don’t even need to steer, he knows where he’s going. You measure the stirrup length by measuring by your arm … make sure the girth is snug. Now, approach from the left, put your left foot in the stirrup here, push up and swing your leg over.” He did as she instructed. “Keep the stirrup on the ball of the foot. Stand up in the stirrups. Sink your weight in your heels. Keep your heels down at all times. Keep your head up. Now, sit back in the saddle. Turn your knees in and hold yourself in the saddle by using your thigh muscles. Don’t squeeze the muscles because that signals you want the horse to speed up.”

She mounted a leopard spotted Appaloosa. “Let’s go. Move with the horse, relax and go with him. That’s it. Heels down. Don’t look at the ground, look between his ears. See how his head moves? Make sure your hands keep a soft, steady connection with his mouth, don’t yank … yes, that’s it. I think you’ve got it. Let’s go faster. He doesn’t trot, he does what they call tolt, it’s a four beat gait. Look, see what happens when I tell Chief Joseph to go faster by squeezing my legs? He trots, a two beat gait. Not as easy to ride.” The pony increased his speed. “He can do that for miles, it’s very comfortable.” She cued the Appaloosa into a collected canter. “This is a canter, three beat gait, it’s a slow gallop. Like riding a rocking horse. You can try it later.”

The horses slowed to a walk as they neared the lane leading to the farm. The lane made a graceful curve up the incline to the house, an ancient, four story manse of oak and native stone, blue granite. Behind the house was a hill with a creek meandering down to the lake, and a large stable built into the side of the hill. “Now, we take the horses back to their stalls, groom them, and put them in the meadow. Nils is the stable Nisse. He’s been here forever. Runs a training school for the Nisser, in fact. Helgi is his favorite horse, he’ll help you.” After the horses had been cared for, they walked to the house. Eli greeted Tabby, the senior house elf, whose clothing indicated her status as a free elf. She introduced her friends to the elf and then went into the main room. A long table had been set up with throne like chairs at either end.

Takeshi took Severus aside. “Come with me, your mother is upstairs in my old room.” They climbed the grand staircase to the second floor, then went went down the gallery to a staircase at the far end of the hall, to the fourth floor, to a large room with tall gabled windows overlooking the lake and the hill. The slanted ceiling was covered with rock concert posters and paintings. Eileen was unpacking a trunk of clothing.

“These are my old school uniforms, my grandmother saved everything in case I ever had a son, so you might as well help yourself to whatever fits. I think there’s some riding boots around, what size do you wear?”

“This is very high quality stuff,” said Eileen.

“Yes, well, you know my grandmother, she loves clothes, especially silk and cashmere. I must go help set up the sound system, we’re having a concert for everyone in the area who wants to come.” He left the room just as Emerald entered.

“I remember these formal robes, when Takeshi wore them … he was so elegant at the Yule Ball his senior year.”

“You might as well take the lot, we need to clear some space up here for an office. She held up a winter weight black cloak to Severus. “I think most of this will fit you, maybe need only a little alteration. Do the boots fit?”

“Yes.”

“Good. You’re going to have to learn how to ride, my dear.”

“I like horses.”

“You’ll get along here just fine, Severus.”

 

Emerald shooed Severus out of the attic and sent him to join Eli in the front hall. Great Grandmother and Grandfather Morgan told the group that they had a surprise for Eli, and led them out of the house to the stable. They walked up a paved path up the side of the hill to an double barn door to the loft of the stable building. Severus noted that there were similar doors set into the hillside about 20 feet from the end of the stable building. Grandfather noticed his gaze and explained, “That’s a cave, we use it now as a carriage house.”

“Not a gateway to Faerie?”

“Only if you can call the mists, my friend. We used to use this loft for storing fodder and bedding for the stable, but the caves are better for that because the temperature is controlled.” He opened one of the large double doors to the loft, and revealed a large, open space, with skylights cut into the roof and windows on the walls. About three quarters of the length of the room was blocked off by a floor to ceiling black mirror, that extended from one side of the room to almost the other side. The room was set up as a martial arts studio, with racks of weapons along the walls.

Eli hugged her grandfather. “Thank you! My own dojo! Now I can keep up with training, at least on the weekends.”

Prof D said, “I’m afraid you’ll have to spend the entire year living in the dorms, but you can come here on weekends, and invite guests. Remember you can’t take any of your weapons or tools outside of the farm unless you have written permission from an instructor.”

 

“Behind the mirror is the bathroom. I did all the plumbing myself. Just like at the Inn.” They walked past the mirror, and into the smaller room on the other side of the bathroom, set up as a study and bedroom, with a curtained bed, a round table with wooden straight chairs set in front of a large, “walk in” fireplace. On either side of the fireplace was a purple leather wingback chair, with a side table. There was an altar in the corner across from the bed with wands, a Chaos star, assorted crystals, a scrying mirror, and a Klein bottle. In the far corner a spiral staircase led down to the stable. The walls had built in bookshelves, partially filled with books clearly of Faerie manufacture.

Eli went to the table. “My old blocks and Runeskrabbel boards! This will help you learn Runic, Alice.” She gathered up the toys and put them in a set of saddlebags and they went down the stairs to the stable.

 

They left the stable and went to the French doors overlooking the garden in the rear of the house. A fountain bubbled in the center of a pentagonal herb garden. In the front hall, a long table was set up in front of the enormous granite fireplace. Over the fireplace on the wall swords, spears, and shields were mounted under an ancient banner in faded purple with a dragon embroidered in gold thread. Great Grandmother, Cordelia Morgan, was seated at the head of the table, and Albus at the other end. The professors, Eileen Snape and the other parents of the students invited were seated on one side of the table. Grandfather Gwydion Morgan and his wife Katsumi were there with Takeshi’s younger sister Masumi, who brought them damp, hot towels that smelled of fragrant herbs. The house elves, led by Tabby, came in bearing trays of food and flagons of cider for the students and mead for the adults.

After dinner Takeshi went to the front entrance, where the band was set up on at the top of the lawn that sloped to the road next to the lake. A small crowd of Hogsmeade residents were seated on blankets sharing food and drink. Eli and her friends sat on a large blanket with her aunt, cousins, and Prof M, who was deep in conversation with Older Sister about the care of horses. The rest of the adults remained in the house. As the sun got low in the sky, Albus announced that he had summoned a boat and the staff except Prof M and F would be returning to the castle, leaving them to escort the students when the music ended. The parents joined the group as the band continued to play until after the waxing gibbous moon rose. Emerald took the parents to the limousine and Takeshi announced that the group would ride back to Hogwarts.

  
Eli took Severus with her and showed him how to put a bridle and saddle on Helgi, handing him a saddlebag containing his shoes and some clothing. She took a bronze Akhal Teke for herself and they joined the group. Takeshi and Jeanne-Marie led them and Minerva brought up the rear. They took an easy pace to the school, so they could appreciate the view of the moonlight on the lake. When they arrived at the front entrance, Eli and Severus took their saddlebags and secured the stirrups and reins. Minerva dismissed the students, and stayed behind to talk to Takeshi.

“So nice to ride in the moonlight with you again, Minerva,” Takeshi smiled.

“So nice to hear you play again,” she responded.

“I may put together a band of locals to play at Abe’s pub on the weekends, now that I’m posted here and Eli is in school.”

“Perhaps you could sit in an occasional music class, I’m sure you’d be welcome.”

“That’s quite possible.”

 

Eli, Rafaela, and Severus walked to the Slytherin common room, nearly empty at this time. They sat on a couch in front of the fire. “Wow, that’s some family you’ve got. Your sister sure is gorgeous.”

“Yeah, I know, I know, I’ve known that every day of my life … she looks so much like Mother, doesn’t she?”

“I think you’re just as beautiful,” Severus said. “You look just like your father, especially when you smile.”

“Thank you. She’s just so much more femme than I can ever be.”

“It’s a different kind of beautiful. Like the difference between the Arabs and the Friesians. I like the Friesians better myself.”

“Sure, next week you can ride them, I’ll give you lessons. If you like the Friesians you’ll love Faerie horses.”

“If you’re giving lessons, I’d like to join,” said Rafaela.

“Why not.”

“I learned how to ride at my uncle’s estate, they have horses, but I’ve never had my own and I’m a bit rusty,” she went on. “I’ll send for my riding gear. It would give me a chance to get away from this place, sometimes I need a break.”

 

Eleutheria headed up the stairs for the Gryffindor commons room. When she got there, Remus Lupin and Lily Evans were waiting for her. "Sit down, Eleutheria, tell us about the Farm and Eli's family."

She looked at the pair with a sudden sense of caution. Neither of them had ever paid much attention to her before, they were "popular" and she was the American weirdo, they'd usually snubbed her. Both seemed nice enough, but she'd never felt any connection to either one, and she'd avoided them because of her antipathy towards Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew. She took a chair at the table nearest the sofa. "The farm is beautiful, the house magnificent, her family quite nice, and the horses are incredible."

"Oh, you ride?" Lily said.

"Yes, I ride, my family raises horses in California, as my friends all know." She got up. "I'm tired and I have to study for class. If you want information about Eli's family, ask Professor Magonagall, she knows them better than I do. Good night."

Vivienne was greeted by the girls in her room when she returned. "you should see their library," she raved. "And her father, oh, so good looking!"

Alice joined a group of girls in the Hufflepuff commons room and gave them an animated description of Eli's family and the farm.

 

Severus went to his dorm and carefully hung up the clothes and put the trees into the boots. “Nice boots, Snape,” said George Cameron, who had the bed next to his. “So the Faerie’s family likes you? The Morgans have a lot of money, but they’re scandalous, my mother says. They’re Old Believers, follow the ancient rituals. You got to go riding?”

“Yes, it was my first time on a horse but I really liked it. Do you know how to ride?”

“No, other than pony rides when I was little. What’s the Farm like?”

“Quite nice, the house, it’s so old, older than Hogwarts, even.”

“What’s her family like?”

“Would you like to see? Eli gave me this, it’s a ‘memory sphere’ to take and store pictures. You can print a picture on a piece of paper or do this,” he said, waving his hand over the globe, which projected a three dimensional picture of the group standing at the front entrance of the house.”

“Who’s that gorgeous creature?”

“That’s Jeanne-Marie, Eli’s older sister, right next to their mother, Emerald. That’s Takeshi, her father, he was a Slytherin, that’s how he knew my mother. He plays guitar, he’s a professional in the Muggle world.”

“He’s at the Ministry now, isn’t he?”

“Some sort of liason with the Rim of Fire Authority in the West, he’s got legal training and he’s helping with the treaty negotiations with Faerie. I heard him talking to Flitcraft, he’s going to assist with music lessons.”

“My mother told me about him. All the girls were in love with him.”

Severus smiled. “They still are, judging from the reactions of the townies, and Prof M, and the girls.” Severus put the sphere into a black leather pouch and tucked it in the pocket of the robe he’d been given. The silk house ties gleamed faintly in the dim light of the dorm.

 

Monday morning Eli put the toys in her bookbag and met Severus in the Great Hall for their usual review of the day’s potions. Alice was already there and came to their table. “Did you bring the toys with you?”

“Yes, let me show you how they work. RuneSkrabbel isn’t just a toy, it’s a competitive sport in Avalon, lots of adult play.”

“You have a free period after lunch, don’t you? We can meet over behind the stands at the quidditch pitch.” After lunch they gathered in a patch of sunlight behind the stands, joined by a few curious students from Hufflepuff and Ravensclaw. The group learned the rules of the game quickly. Eli corrected the homework of the more senior students who had drifted into the group. They were watched from the stands by Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. When Eli left to go to class, she left the toys in the care of Alice.

During dinner, Rafaela sat across from her, saying, “You’ve got some of the Slytherins upset that you’re helping other houses. Do you think you could get more of those RuneSkrabbel sets to keep in the Commons room?”

“Of course, I can ask my mother to send more, have enough for every house, I should have thought of that. I’ll ask her tonight.”

 

By the end of the week, the informal study group had increased in size and frequency. Most of the students were Hufflepuff and Ravensclaw, none of the Slytherins would join a group with other houses, and only Eleutheria and two senior students came from Gryffindor. That Friday, Takeshi came to the school in the afternoon to sit in the music class, and she noticed how the students who had either ignored or openly snubbed her suddenly became a lot more friendly. This only increased her contempt for them, and she did not change her attitude of cool indifference towards most of her fellow students. They simply didn't understand how Faeries could read people, and how she was not fooled by their insincere charm. Nor was her father.

Professor Flitcraft invited him to stay for dinner and sit at the high table, and he agreed. Eli joined them and they went to the Great Hall where Severus and Rafaela were already seated at the end of the table, with the usual gap between them and the rest of the Slytherins. Eli slid into her seat next to Severus as Takeshi was warmly greeted by everyone at the head table. The librarian and Minerva sat down next to Takeshi. He declined Albus's offer to introduce him to the entire house. The librarian smiled up at him. "Are you going to play at the dances again?" Professor Flitcraft nodded.

Takeshi smiled at her and said, "If I'm needed and I'm available, I know a couple of guys in Hogsmeade, we're thinking of getting together when we can. But I thought some people didn't like me playing all that Muggle rock and roll here."

"Oh, everyone is over that, the kids love it," said Minerva. "Some of the music students would love a chance to be on stage, we could put together enough material in time for the Yule Ball."

 

The talk continued at the High Table as the students began to drift away from the Great Hall. Horace took Takeshi to the Slytherin table, and told Eli and Severus that they would take their honored guest back to the Commons room, so he could see his old hang out. George Cameron noticed that Narcissa Black was staring at Takeshi with her mouth open. He nudged the boy next to him. "Get a load of Black, she's hot for Eli's dad .. . as if she had a chance against a Faerie." The two boys laughed and George said, "Old Malfoy will be pissed about this, his girl making eyes at Takeshi Morgan."

Some of the girls had noticed Narcissa's stare and the gossip was spreading faster than the students could get back to the dorms. Horace led the group out of the Great Hall, tailed by the smitten girl. When they got to the Commons room Eli went straight to the sofa in the corner and sunk down into the upholstery. Severus sat next to her as Horace introduced Takeshi to some of the students.

"Walk with me to the gate," he told Eli and Severus. As they were leaving, Narcissa stepped in front of Takeshi and held her hand out.

"Hello, I'm Narcissa Black," she breathed, while looking up into his eyes and fluttering her eyelashes.

"So you are," said Takeshi, and he picked up her hand and gave it a brief shake, then dropped it.

 

Eli rolled her eyes and elbowed Severus. They left the room and headed down the hallways. Eli told him of their library room, and asked if he would be their Secret Keeper. "We want to take the Unbreakable Vow never to betray each other's secrets, Father."

"Yes, if you want to learn Faerie magic you do have to agree to the terms, Severus. I did, I have no regrets. I'll talk to your mother, and she;ll talk to Eileen. Have to get her permission, you're underage."

"She's so glad we met," Severus said.

"I am too," Takeshi replied. I hear you're coming to Samhain with us."

"Is it true that the dead return?" "Oh, yes, that's when the veil is thin enough to allow any who wish to return. You can ask anyone on the other side to visit, but they may not come. They may have other places to go or they may have reincarnated, maybe even gone up a level, some call it Nirvana."


	4. Mabon/Autumnal Equinox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fey and the Morgans follow the Circle of the Year, in the Celtic trad. I'm including a bit of explanation for those who don't have a background in this fascinating subject.  
> Horace Slughorn's attempt to turn Eli into one of his pets fails when Sirius Black escalates his attacks on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> under construction

http://www.goddessandgreenman.co.uk/mabon

_This festival is now named after the the God of Welsh mythology, Mabon. He is the Child of Light and the son of the Earth Mother Goddess, Modron. In truth, there is little evidence that Mabon was celebrated in Celtic countries and the term Mabon was applied as recently as the 1970's. All part of our reconstructed Paganism... Here is another point of perfect balance on the journey through the Wheel of the Year, its counterpart being Ostara or the Spring Equinox._

_Night and day are again of equal length and in perfect equilibrium - dark and light, masculine and feminine, inner and outer, in balance. But we are again on the cusp of transition and from now the year now begins to wane and from this moment darkness begins to defeat the light. The cycle of the natural world is moving towards completion, the Sun's power is waning and from now on the nights grow longer and the days are are shorter and cooler. The sap of trees returns back to their roots deep in the earth, changing the green of summer to the fire of autumn, to the flaming reds, oranges and golds. We are returning to the dark from whence we came._  
_But before we do that, we're gonna party (again)! This is the Second Harvest, the Fruit Harvest and the Great Feast of Thanksgiving. The Goddess is radiant as Harvest Queen and the God finally dies with His gift of pure love with the cutting of the last grain. He will return. As the grain harvest is safely gathered in from Lamhow they have manifested. It is time to complete projects, to clear out and let go that which is no longer wanted or needed as we prepare for descent, so that the winter can offer a time for reflection and peace. And it is time to plant seeds of new ideas and hopes which will lie dormant but nourished in the dark, until the return of Spring.mas and reaches completion, we enjoy the abundance of fruit and vegetables at this time. It is time to thank the waning Sun for the wealth of harvest bestowed upon us. It sometimes_ _seems that each Festival requires the making of celebration and the giving of thanks, but this really is so, each turn of the Wheel brings both inner and outer gifts and insights._

_So Mabon is a celebration and also a time of rest after the labour of harvest. In terms of life path it is the moment of reaping what you have sown, time to look at the hopes and aspirations of Imbolc and Ostara and reflect_

Monday morning was rainy so Eli and Severus went to breakfast earlier than usual and were working the day’s potion lesson together when Prof S sat with them at the table. He smiled genially. “My dear, did your father mention The Slug Club to you?”

“Yes, he did,” she said. Severus felt her tense up.

"I'm having an Autumnal Equinox party, to welcome new students. I’d love it if you would join, Severus here is a member.”

“I don’t think that’s appropriate"

“Why, whatever do you mean?”

“I understand that you have many social events here, to throw the students together to promote pair bonding so the Magi aren’t tempted to marry Muggles, or form inappropriate attachments to those of the same gender. Your social policies seem to be marry ‘em off young and get ‘em breeding young, and since I am not a breeder and my people don’t marry, I have no reason to attend nor do I have any interest in such an activity. I don’t approve of any organization that is at its core elitist, and since I don’t have a future in this wizarding jurisdiction and am extremely unpopular with the students, I will have to decline your invitation. I don’t think the other students want me there any more than I want to be there.”

“you have to give them a chance, dear.”

“Give them a chance? Are you kidding me? Look, I’m a legilimens, I know what they are thinking about me, they don’t even try to disguise their feelings.”

“Not everyone, I’m sure.”

“No, just about 94% of ‘em. And the other 6% are too concerned with their standing in the group to even appear to accept me. I ‘knew the job was dangerous when I took it’ and I’m grateful to have what friends I do have here, but I don’t want to be forced to socialize with people who have such contempt for me and my people. I can socialize with those who like me on my own. I really do appreciate the offer, since you are doing this out of respect for me, I hope, and not because I’m the sideshow freak everyone wants to get a closer look at. I have to deal with that every day in class and in the dorm.”

“I insist on proper dress and decorum at my events, can’t you at least give it a try? Your father always enjoyed my gatherings.”

 _[No, he didn't, but he is far more a diplomat than I am]_  Prof S gave Severus a look and he said, “Just think about it, my dear, and the invitation is always open.”

When he was gone, she grumbled, “What does he want from me? That one doesn’t do anything unless there is something in it for him. He means well but . ..”

“He asked me to try and convince you to come. And there is something else. He told me not to mention this to you. He wants me to collect your tears, he says that Faerie tears have magical properties of incredible power … and he didn’t think you’d give him any of yours.”

“He’s right, I wouldn’t. Our tears are very precious. We share only with friends. I’d share with you, if you’d like to learn about it, but you should know there are some side effects.”

 

She took out a silk handkerchief from her shirt pocket and handed it to him. In the middle of it a small amulet was attached, a teardrop made of carved rock crystal, apparently hollow, because there was a number of tiny sparks of light, like diamond chips, inside that moved around freely when he shook it. “Those are tears, and this is a tear collector. It works like this.” She picked up the handkerchief and held it so that the amulet was on the underside, then put it to the corner of her eye. "You squeeze it gently and it sucks the tear inside and crystallizes it. Each tear has its own properties depending on how and why it was shed. It’s very complex and powerful magic, and I’m not supposed to do anything but collect them until I’ve learned more. I’ll let you have some but only if you give me some of yours, that’s how we do things.”

“You don’t want your tears falling into the wrong hands, I get it,” said Severus.

Eli put her book away and looked at Severus with her brows knitted. “Why are you letting him use you?”

“He told me that he’d give me a lot of privileges if I kept an eye on you and brought you into his circle. This is the first time he made me a part of the cogniscenti; I’d be invited to the parties but I had to serve drinks and food to the more elite students. I’m so glad I have those robes to wear. Will you come to the party?

” “Could you tell me who’s part of this group?” “Uh, well … no one you like and some you don’t like.”

“You mean Potter and Black. Sorry, I will not be a part of any social events with them. I’ll tell Slughorn when we get to class.”

When they got to the Potions classroom, Prof S was setting up a cauldron on his table. Eli approached him, bowed, and said, “I’m sorry, Professor, but I don’t think it would be in anyone’s best interests for me to show up at your party. I simply cannot tolerate being in close proximity to certain individuals, and it would make me extremely uncomfortable, to say the least.”

“You mean, Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew,” Horace said with a genial smile.

“Precisely. And there are others who have made public statements about how I should not be here. I’m surprised, really, that you thought it was a good idea to invite me.”

“I hear you, but would you allow me to at least make an attempt at creating greater understanding of the Fey? Your people are quite socially advanced, and your father was always the life of the party.”

“I am not my father.”

“I will instruct those boys to keep their distance, like they do in my classroom. Please give me a chance, Miss le Fey. There are those who would like to get to know you better. Like Lily Evans. I think you two should get to know one another. She’s asked me about you. And Remus Lupin is truly a good soul, he admires you a great deal. He told me the day you came here how sorry he was about the incident on the train.”

Eli rolled her eyes, put her hands on her hips, let out an exasperated sigh, and said, “O.K. I’ll give it one chance, and one chance only. If there are any incidents, I shall never return. I really have better things to do with my time, like keep up with my Druidic studies, or trying to find a place to exercise, to waste it cavorting with numbnuts and fools. Now, what is the dress code?”

“Black tie formal.”

“Got it.”

She went back to her seat next to Severus. “I’m going to go. I have a really bad feeling about this.” “Suck it up and soldier on, le Fey. Let’s get to this potion, it’s tricky.”

 

The week passed uneventfully, and on Saturday Eli got dressed in a shimmering black silk full length coat dress, fitted tightly on the upper body, buttoned to the throat with a white lace collar showing, with matching cuffs peeking out of the long sleeves. Her only jewelry was her moonstone amulet and diamond earrings in the shape of Chaos stars. She met Severus, gripped his left hand, and said, “Let’s get this ordeal over with. You look great in those robes!”

“Yes, they are nice.” “So glad someone can get some use out of that stuff. Great Grandmother herself designed everything."

They walked to the party and entered the room, which Slughorn had decorated in a harvest theme. Conversations halted. Everyone in the room turned and looked at them. Prof S smiled and called, out, “Welcome, Miss le Fey. Everyone, this is Eli le Fey. Her father was one of my favorite students, and was the light of the Slug Club when he attended. Please make her feel welcome.”

She stood near the door. Lily Evans and Remus Lupin came to her. Lily smiled and said, “That was amazing how you can talk to unicorns. I hear that your sister can speak to all of the animals?”

“Yes, she can. She’s training to be a healer and says she will specialize in magical creatures.”

“And you are in training for the military?”

“Yes.”

“They let women do that?” asked Lupin.

“Of course. It’s not a matter of gender. You see, we differ from Terrans in that we are less defined by gender, more by the individual’s unique combination of traits and training. Do you have a problem with strong women, Mr. Lupin?”

He grinned. “On the contrary, I admire strong women greatly. I know that is not the case with most of us Terrans.”

 

Lily brought over several students to introduce them to Eli. Severus left her side to speak to Prof S. They were chatting when Eli heard Sirius Black say in a loud voice, “Hey, Snivellus, how’s your girlfriend? Still hiding behind her skirts?”

Eli turned, her eyes beginning to sparkle with green fire. Lily hurried over to him. “Sirius, no, you promised to leave him alone tonight.”

“No, I promised to stay away from her, because she thinks she’s too good for us Gryffindors.” Eli came to attention, did an about face, and strode out of the room.

 

Prof S watched her go, wringing his hands. He turned to Black. “We talked about this. Severus, would you go speak to her?” As he left the room, he heard S say, “That was uncalled for, Black. I am extremely disappointed in you.”

Eli was striding so fast Severus and to run to catch up with her. “Go back and get your dinner, Severus. I’m not going back. I told Slughorn that I would leave if there were any problems.”

“I’d rather be with you, Eli. I’m sorry that happened. They hate me so much.”

“It’s not your fault, Severus. You’re my friend. I’ll stand by you. The enemy of my friend is my enemy.”

“I thought the saying was the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“No, that’s ridiculous, it never works in the real world, does it?”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“I usually am, my prince.”

“Why do you call me that?”

“It suits you.”

 

They got to the Slytherin common room. “I’ll break out one of my mother’s ‘care packages,’.” She dashed to her room and returned in a minute with a wooden box, “A bottle of cider, some apples, honey cakes, and even some chocolate truffles, made by my Faerie grandmother.  Now, let me tell you about how they celebrate the Equinox in Avalon."  She handed out apples and cakes to Severus and two first year girls who sidled up to her like cats wanting to be friends.  

"Is it true unicorns live in your city?" asked Valerie Werth, one of the girls. 

"Yes, when they get old and don't want to climb up and down the mountain, they come stay with us.  They play with children and donate blood, help the healers.  We have to work at this festival, we get a week off from school and get sent to whatever farms need help.  I've been sent all over Faerie, met a lot of people.  I would have gone out with my Army unit if I were there.  I wanted to get the week off but they wouldn't let me.  Maybe next year.  So we work basically all day long, and when the work is done we gather together and wait for the full moon, then we have a huge harvest festival, and it takes about three days to sleep that off."

"You have to earn it in Faerie," said Severus.  

 

Rafaela came to the room and sat next to Severus. “Well, old Slughorn is in a lather about you walking out, but he doesn’t blame you. He hopes you will reconsider. He will ban anyone you don’t like from the parties.”

“No, let them stay, they were here first. I’m not going back, I will not be foresworn. I told the professor what the deal was. You want a truffle? My grandmother made them. Faerie chocolate.”

She handed out the truffles to the two girls as well. “Share your surplus, that’s one of our core values.”

“Great dress. Love those earrings, where did you get them?”

“My mother’s father gave them to me on my 12th birthday. The stones are from Faerie, the refugee goblins run a mining operation in the mid continental mountains.”

“I heard that Faerie is a sanctuary for magical beings being oppressed or endangered.”

“It’s what we do.”

 

They were trying to explain the rules of Quidditch to Eli when Prof S came to the room. Eli immediately leaped to her feet and stood at attention when he approached. “At ease, le Fey. I just came to make sure you weren’t angry. I’m very sorry. And you missed your dinner!”

“Not to worry, I had some food my mother sent from Avalon. Would you like the last truffle?” She handed him the candy.

“Oh my, Faerie chocolate, a rare treat, in fact, so rare I’ve never had it before.” He ate it ecstatically, proclaiming, “I didn’t know chocolate could be improved upon!”

“I’ll ask Grandmother to send more. Look, professor, I think it’s best I keep my socializing off campus. Sunday dinners are on, and you know all of the staff has an open invitation. It stresses me out too much to have to try and be polite sometimes. I just can’t waste my psychic energy trying to ignore certain people, being in class with them is more than I wish to handle. I will not socialize with them or any of their associates. There is nothing more to discuss on this issue.”

“I could banish those you dislike.”

“No, that would just cause more resentment. I will not be accused of usurping their privilege.”

“Don’t be too hard on them, most of them will come around when they see what you are.”

“I think you are entirely too optimistic.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Eli. Severus, remember what we talked about?” The professor left the Commons.

“I’ll tell you later, Eli,” said Severus in answer to her unasked question.


	5. Eli Beats Down Malfoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucius Malfoy visits Hogwarts, attempts to pick a fight with Eli and get smacked down.

The Runes Club met that day behind the Quiddich field during practice. Eli was correcting a paper while students played RuneSkrabbel and formed spells with the blocks or worked on writing assignments. A tall man with aquiline features and dramatic long, pale blond hair, swept back from his face, came up to the group and watched for a minute. Eli looked at him. “Can I help you?”

“Oh, no, I just wanted a close up look at the Faerie, how nice, helping out students from every house but Slytherin! No loyalty to your own? “

“My father had friends in all the houses and his family were in all the houses over the years. You got a problem with me helping other students? “

“Oh, yes, your father, in those pretty robes with all the girls chasing him because he played guitar … then he ran off with a Faerie, couldn’t even continue the family name …but the women in that branch are those Old Believers, go to the Beltane Fire and who knows who or what the father is … oh, yes, your family. My family was unfortunately in the minority; we feel that we got rid of your kind for good reason and we don’t want you back. We were outvoted. By the way, how do you know who you fathers are when you all have the last name? Or is that part of the Morgan tradition, to never know who the father is?”

“Maybe we don’t need to be reminded of who our fathers are, because we know and we don’t need labels. By the way, who the hell are you? Wait a minute … didn’t I see you in the Finals for the Upper Class Twit of the Year Race?” Malfoy began turning red. “I’m Lucius Malfoy, and I was prefect of Slytherin.” “But you aren’t now, Malfoy. Why are you bothering me?”

 “It’s bad enough they won’t ban mudbloods and halfbreeds, but Faeries, really, it’s too much. You do look just like your alleged father, that Muggle lover, thought he was so much better than me because he was a Morgan, even though the Malfoys have so much more “

“More what? I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of you or your family, and if you are any representation of what they are like, I really don’t care to find out who or what you are.”

“And your grandmother, she’s not quite human is, she? Some kind of half breed dragon, isn’t she?” Eli’s eyes were sending out green sparks. “Oh, no, this is not good,” thought Alice. She and Vivienne got up.

“Hey, Malfoy, we like her, and you’re wrong, so why don’t you go away? Leave us alone, said Vivienne. Alice stood next to Eli.

Malfoy turned to Vivienne. “And you, your family is pure, your sister is Slytherin prefect, and you associate with this FAERIE?”

“Listen, Malfoy,” Vivienne snarled. “My sister likes Eli. My mother likes Eli. My teachers like Eli. So I just do not give a SHYTE what you think of Eli and her people. Back off.”

“You’re learning bad manners from this purple eyed freak, someone needs to set you straight.” He reached out to grab her by her robe.

Eli pulled Vivienne back and jumped in front of her. “If you touch her I will hurt you, you misbegotten bastard.”

“You insolent little whore.” Malfoy raised his hand to slap her. Eli held her hands up and a green spark flew out and struck him in the chest, knocking him on his behind. Everyone laughed, and Eli turned to take a bow.

 Malfoy leaped to his feet and took out his wand, “Eli, he’s got his wand!” Vivienne yelled, and as he raised it, Eli transfigured into her animagus, knocked the wand out of his hand, and grabbed him by the back of his coat and began shaking him, as he screamed in a high pitched voice.

Several of the students present also screamed, and Professor M ran from the pitch to Eli and yelled, “ LE FEY, PUT HIM DOWN IMMEDIATELY.” She dropped Malfoy who tumbled to the ground, his coat ripped, panting for air, as Eli transfigured back, head down, facing the professor. “What have you got to say for yourself, le Fey?”

“Hey, he had it coming! he tried to smack me so I knocked him down.”

“You could have harmed him, even killed him!”

“Oh, no, not in front of this many witnesses! I didn’t use my claws and I grabbed his coat. I thought he needed a lesson in manners. He tried to TOUCH me. he went for his wand when my back was turned. And he was a prefect here?”

“Is that true, Mr Malfoy?” said the professor, as Dumbledore appeared out of nowhere.

“She’s right,” said Lupin, “That’s exactly what happened.”

“Thank you,Mr Lupin, Mr Potter, could you retrieve Mr Malfoy’s wand for him?”

Potter grinned, went to where the wand had landed, picked it up and handed it to Malfoy with a smirk. “Hope you know a spell for changing your panties, Malfoy,” he said, sotto voce.

 

Dumbledore shook his head. “Lucius, that was in very bad form. One should never try to touch a Faerie without permission, and to use a wand on a student, that is simply not acceptable! You know better than that. Minerva, why don’t you speak to the students and find out what they saw, and I will take Miss le Fey to my office and we’ll discuss what happened.”

 They walked towards the castle, and Dumbledore said, “Horace thinks you’re unhappy here.”

“What difference does that make? I’m here to learn and as a hostage to the treaty negotiations. I know what people are saying, Malfoy just said it to my face. Look, most of the other students don’t want me here. I knew what I was getting into, and being popular doesn’t matter, but I’ve about had it with all the bullying here.  What is up with that Potter?  Why does he get away with hexing students just minding their own business?”

“I think you may not be in any danger now; I don’t think too many students will be willing to take you on.”

“That just means that they’ll go after other targets.”

“I’ve noticed you always sit in the corner, and never join in any group. You use your few friends to block everyone else from you.”

“I’m that obvious, huh?”

“I’m a trained observer.”

“Am I Unmutual?”

“this isn’t The Village, my dear,” Dumberdore laughed. “I’m surprised you know of that Muggle entertainment!”

“to understand them, I have to understand what they like, what they believe. Their religions, their governments. I was sent to observe and learn the psychohistory of Terrans. If we don’t we won’t be able to get these wars under control. My father says that ignoring and marginalizing Muggles is counterproductive and explains some of the problems he’s found already at the Ministry.”

“Yes, he confides in me and I agree with him.”

“It’s getting dangerous, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

 “You know, there seem to be a lot of wrongful convictions in your legal system, it’s not working very well, is it? Maybe they should get rid of the ‘show of hands’ of a large group to determine guilt or innocence, it ends up a popularity contest, the group mentality takes over and they don’t think about the case so much as who’s voting for what verdict. That’s what Father said when we sat in on a hearing. And he knows Terran psychohistory, for Muggles and Magi!”

“He studies law with the Druids, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, he’s been doing that between deployments and then he got sent to the Ministry.”

“And here we are. Feel free to look around, I’ll be back shortly,” Albus said as he left her in his office and shut the door behind him.

Eli walked over to the phoenix and they were looking at each other when the door reopened to admit Albus, Horace, Rafaela and Severus. “Sit down,” Albus said. There was a knock on the door and Minerva came in. She addressed the group.

“I have determined the facts. Lucius Malfoy provoked the attack by making several disparaging remarks about the Fey, Muggleborns as well as Takeshi and the entire Morgan family, he attempted to grab another student and then tried to slap Eli when she defended her. Then she lawfully used a repelling spell, and he attempted to use his wand when she had her back turned. Had it not been for the timely warning of your sister Vivienne, he may have committed a crime against magic, and although Eli’s reaction could be seen as an overreaction, it is completely understandable. However, she did destroy a very expensive coat, and caused Mr Malfoy a great amount of embarrassment,” she said, attempting to control a smile, “and public humiliation, he has decided not to press charges against her. The two of you go to dinner, we will be down shortly.”

Rafaela and Severus left. Prof M laughed loudly. “I wish I could have seen him go down, you really got him,” she said.

“We can’t just let you go with no consequences to your actions. I am assigning you an essay, you must write about the customs of your people, so that such ‘misunderstandings’ can be averted through knowledge. And you will move your Rune Study Group to a classroom, we’ll make it official and give you academic credit,” said Dumbledore. “Now, let’s go down to dinner.”

 When they got to the Great Hall, all conversations ceased and all eyes turned to the group. They walked to the High Table, where Dumbledore spoke to the students. “I’m sure all of you have heard about the incident today behind the Quiddich pitch. As a result of this, we have decided to make the Rune Study Group official, and those students who wish to participate in it will be allowed the use of a classroom. le Fey will make herself available to answer reasonable questions about her people at these classes, submitted in writing. And to dispel any rumors of just how savage Miss Le Fey’s animagus is, perhaps she would be good enough to demonstrate. Miss le Fey?” She smiled, and transfigured. Some of the students gave out muffled shrieks. Eli ran to the hall entrance, then gracefully leaped over the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables, and ran a lap around the Hall. She returned to the front of the High Table, transfigured back, and bowed.” Thank you, Miss le Fey, that will be all.”

 She sauntered to her place next to Severus in the corner of the room. “Show off, “ he whispered. She smiled and took a large piece of rare meat off a platter.

Rafaela looked at her. “So you beat the piss out of Malfoy, eh? Wish I could have seen that! Vivienne was laughing so hard she could barely tell me what happened. I didn’t like him at all when he was here. Gave me the creeps. Always going on about how great his family is but he barely got his OWLs. Obviously their alleged superiority doesn’t extend to academics.”

“He does have pretty hair. I wonder if that’s his natural color?”

“Vivienne said he screamed like a little girl. You may have made yourself a lot more popular with the other houses, he wasn’t very well liked.”

“He was nice to me,” Severus said. “Only because you weren’t around long enough for him to start picking on you. He’s a back stabber and he’s really a coward, I mean, he pulled his wand on Eli when her back was turned!”

“He sure doesn’t like Faeries, or halfbreeds, Muggles, halfbloods, or even most ‘pure’ wizards.”

“I bet Narcissa Black is angry! She’s been after Malfoy, or at least his family’s money, since she got here and it doesn’t look like any other women want him. She didn’t even come to dinner!”

“Oh, not another Black, related to Sirius and Regulus? “

“Cousins but at least she’s not marrying her one of her first cousins, Sirius and Regulus’s parents were cousins”

“’Nothing wrong with incest so long as you keep it in the family. Don’t’ those twits realize what a low inbreeding coefficient Terrans have, and the first sign of too small a gene pool is behavioral anomalies and cognitive impairment? This pureblood mania … don’t they realize how significant Hybrid Vigor is? Look at me! I’m stronger than the other Fey kids my age, because my father was Terran.”

“Like a mule, Eli,” Severus smiled.

“Yeah, just like a mule. Maybe they aren’t as pretty as horses but they are twice as strong and three times as intelligent, and I’m in the Army so it’s not a bad role model for me. I’ve studied a lot of Terran military history, you know. We use Patton’s Saber Exercises when we learn how to ride, works really well with wands. All of us have to take Basic Training in case the Realm is ever invaded, so far the daemons haven’t tried. The Druids say that the wars here are promulgated to some extent or another by the daemons, who’ve learned how to control the minds of Terrans. They hide among the people, to make it harder to track them down and eliminate them. They know we can find them in the open, they don’t like to fight us head on unless they’ve got us outnumbered, and they know we won’t kill noncombatants.”

“They use the Imperious Curse?”

“Something like that. Much stronger. Even if you kill the daemon the damage to the brain is irreversible. The victims will continue to do things that are against their own best interests, once they are in thrall to the daemons. “

“Some say daemons don’t exist.”

“Muggles think you don’t exist. They’re shapeshifters, and hardly any Terrans can recognize them. The Dine can. They call them Skinwalkers.”

 “What are daemons, then?”

“Hard to say … you can’t do any research on them, they are too dangerous to keep alive to study. Even their corpses are hazardous material, they exude toxins and can sting you like a dessicated Portuguese Man O’ War on the beach. So far all we know is that they come from at least one realm that is connected with this one. We haven’t seen them in Faerie. I don’t think they really want to come to our realm because they can’t use us.”

 

 The Hall slowly emptied, and they got up and walked to the Slytherin Common Room. The room became silent and all eyes were on Eli. She smiled, nodded at the group, and went up the stairs to her bed and pulled the curtains closed. She spent the evening listening to the new Johnny Winter album and some “bootleg” Rory Gallagher her father recorded for her, while studying the text the War Druids had assigned her on battlefield magic.


	6. Samhain in Avalon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus, Eileen, Alice, her cat Morrigan, and her mother Athena go to Avalon with Eli UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Severus had warned Eli how Sirius Black and James Potter often hexed other students, in the classrooms, in the halls, and even when there w ere instructors present, nothing was done to them.  She wasn't too surprised at the overt favoritism showed to them; she had done a lot of research on the social life of Terrans. Potter was a stereotypical "rich kid" who had been indulged and never disciplined, got by with surface charm and by simply not caring about others.  She figured out that he was the main instigator in his gang's attacks on Severus, and it infuriated her.  They didn't have sociopaths in Faerie.  It's almost impossible for an empath to behave that way.   

Eli was walking with Alice one day after DADA class, when she spotted the Marauders giggling and pointing at Vega Starbuck, a second year Slytherin.  She was carrying a huge stack of books back to the library.  She saw James sneak his wand out of his pocket, and aim a hex at the girl.  It was a Jelly Legs Hex, and the girl fell in a heap, the books scattering around her.  Eli blasted him with her mind, and he tripped over his own feet when she gave his cerebellum a good tweak.  She and Alice went to help Vega collect the books, after Eli removed the hex with a simple gesture.  

"I saw what you did, Potter," Eli growled.  "What the hell is wrong with you?"  

"Mind your own business, Faerie,"  Sirius replied.  

"You motherfuckers MAKE it my business if you do it where I can see it.  Try that again when I'm around and you will regret it."

"Language, le Fey," said Remus.  

"Fuck that shit.  That girl was minding her business, and you're about as funny as an inflamed hemorrhoid.  Come on, Vega, let's get these books back."  They walked away, 

 

The girls left.  James made a mistake, as he later admitted, and aimed a Pimple Jinx at Eli.  He didn't know that any jinx he could produce would automatically bounce back at him due to the Protection Mirror Ritual Eli did every week, knowing full well she would be targeted at school.  He found that out quickly, as the boils broke out all over his body.  Everyone who had witnessed this laughed out loud.  

"Don't fuck with a Faerie, Potter,"  Eli yelled over her shoulder at him.    

"That's good advice," Remus said.  "Let's get you to the infirmary."

"How the hell did she do a counterjinx, I didn't see her take her wand out," Sirius said.

"She must have cast it before we knew she was there," Remus said.  

They didn't have a clue about how little Faeries needed wands.  She could have done all her charms and spell casting without one.  She just wasn't willing to let anyone at Hogwarts know just how much power she had.  

 

 

Alice, Severus and Eli were waiting at the Farmhouse for their mothers and Takeshi to arrive on the afternoon of October 30th.  Eli had explained to the group that the High Holidays were essentially three day holidays, beginning at sunset the day before, and ending on sunset the day after. Morrigan was napping in her carrier. Alice grinned and said, “I’m so excited, I get to see Avalon, a place I thought didn’t exist except in my imagination. I wonder if any of my ancestors will come to see me?”

“You can invite them,” Eli replied. “The realm of the dead was created long before our realm, it’s one of the connections we have with Terra, and keeps us linked. I don’t quite understand the concept; I’ve been told that realm exists outside of time. Ask an Ovate to explain it to you, but only if you have the time to listen for hours. They do go on.”

 

 The limo arrived and the adults joined the group. Cordelia joined them briefly, explaining that she was hosting a gathering of the Welsh Morgans for the Festival. “All the ancestors will be coming here when the veil thins. Maybe next year I can go with you to Avalon.”

“We’ll get out of your hair, Grandmother, see you soon,” Takeshi said, and kissed her. They walked to the gateway, led by Eli, entered the cave, and shut the doors behind them.

Alice looked around her. The cave with lit with greenish Faerie fire torches, reflecting in the eyes of Emerald and Eli. “The first time you go through the mists, it can be disorienting. To be safe, we should all join hands. Eli, would you call the mists?” She nodded, bowed her head and crossed her arms over he chest. She spoke three words, then opened her arms, raised them and looked up. Alice saw a spiral of white, opalescent mist forming around them, shrouding them instantly. She could hardly see her mother next to her. She felt Eli take her hand.

“Let’s go,” Eli said, and the group walked into the mists. “Stay together, you don’t want to get lost in here. You may never find your way out without help.” They walked for what seemed to Severus to be about three city blocks when the mists thinned and they exited out of a cave mouth to a plaza paved in silver gray granite. Emerald and Eli smiled as the group reacted to their first view of Avalon. The plaza extended from the lakeshore to a grove of apple trees, where colorful tents were set up. “We get a lot of folks from out of town on Samhain,” Eli said.1

 Emerald led the group across the plaza to a wide boulevard that led up a past a garden with a fountain in the center. Severus noticed the hills. He knew that the Island of Avalon was built on seven hills, with the tall center tor was the place of their most sacred rituals, and he wondered if he would be allowed to participate. The buildings were made of the same silver grey granite as the paving, of simple lines, almost the style known as Art Deco, but he knew these buildings were at least as old as Hogwart’s. “Are all the buildings made of stone?” he asked Eli.

“Yes, we have lots of masons here,” she replied. 

“Look at the hillside there,” she said, pointing to the nearest hillside. “Those tiny houses are quite large when you go inside. The masons excavate and use the stone taken out to build with, and they use a lot of cast concrete for durability. It’s the most ecologically sound way to build, and they last a lot longer than Terran structures. Some of the old school Druids hate killing trees, you know. We don’t use wood in construction.”

 

 They walked past a large building used as a stable, with Faerie horses lounging about, with no fences, no ropes or halters in sight. “The horses just stay there on their own?” Alice asked.

“Oh, my, yes. They are here on their own accord, they choose to live and work with us. Some never do. Those horses are with the Army, that’s the main post area. I train here.” They turned down an alley and entered a doorway set in a row of what looked like single story townhouses.

 Emerald led them in and said, “Kids, you stay here, Takeshi and I will get everyone settled over at our places. Your grandparents are coming over with lunch, they want to meet your friends.”

“This is great,” Alice said. A tall red tabby cat came out of the kitchen.

“This is Max, he lives here, he is very friendly,” Eli said. Morrigan mewed and pawed at the carrier latch and let herself out. The cats touched noses. “You look out for her, no going out,” Eli said as she shut the cat flap on the door and secured it.

“Is he your cat?” Alice asked.

“No, we don’t really 0wn cats here. He was here when I got the place. Everyone looks after the cats. They live where they want.”

 

 Severus went to the wall of bookshelves and examined the books. Eli showed Alice her wardrobe, including the ritual robes and cadet uniform. They were going over her wands and other tools when a knock at the door announced the arrival of her grandparents, Seldon and Sofia, aunt Luciente, uncle Emanuel, and two cousins, Asimov and Metatron. Sofia announced they were going on a picnic, to watch some of the equestrian games at the Arena. They found a place in the bleachers near the rail as the announcer called for the participants in Duelling to come to the ring. "You'll like this event," Eli told Alice and Severus. It's jousting with wands. They compete in pairs and units."

The competition was fierce, and Alice noticed how the horses were participating in the duel, playing "Chicken" to make the other horse back down, making it very difficult for the riders to accurately aim their spells. Alice had never seen a Faerie horse, and thought they were terrifyingly beautiful, like a tiger, or a dragon. They had long, muscular necks, short backs, deep, wide chests, and beautifully sculpted legs. They had surprisingly delicate facial features, large dark eyes, domed, wide foreheads, with flaring nostrils, like the fantasy horse figurines she used to collect as a little girl.

 

Jeanne-Marie rode up on her chestnut, leading two horses. She joined them on the bleachers, and told Eli, "The Crone wants to see you and Severus now. Take the horses and go." Severus looked at the horses. He was expected to ride one of those, after only a few lessons? He took a deep breath. He knew those creatures sensed fear. At least he didn't have to worry about reins, since they didn't use bridles. Jeanne-Marie turned to him and displayed two crystal devices, about the size of a flattened golf ball, and placed one on his forehead, tying it into place with a scarf. "That's so you can hear the horse's thoughts like we do," she said, handing the second one to Eli.

Eli nudged Alice. "Watch what happens when the boys see Older Sister arrived." She jumped down off the bleachers and led Severus to the horses. "Which one do you want to ride?" He pointed to the seal bay mare, and Eli attached the other crystal to a band across the horse's forehead. She handed him a piece of dark chocolate. "Give it to her, her name is Selene, for the mark on her forehead," she said, indicating the cresent moon shaped star. He held out his hand to the mare, and she daintily nibbled the chocolate. He could sense her thoughts. He turned to Eli. "Is this what it's like for you all the time? It's amazing." He stroked Selene's neck, and she responded by nuzzling his face.

Eli gave some chocolate to the other horse, a flea bitten grey. "This is Aristogoras, he's an old war horse, lost his rider in the Cambodian War." She patted him fondly. "Let's not keep the Crone waiting, she's very busy today." They mounted up and headed for the main temple.

 

Alice didn't have to wait long to see what Eli was talking about. Within minutes of her appearance, several teenaged male Faeries began to congregate around Jeanne-Marie, who ignored them. "I'm going back to my place, Secretariat is running tomorrow and I've got to get him fed and settled for the night. You see, we have games for the visitors who come here from both sides of the veil." She leaped down from the bleachers and got on her horse and galloped off, to the obvious disappointment of the boys.

Alice turned to Asimov and they both broke out laughing. Asimov told Alice, "Ever since she went to school on Torayama, the number of young males going to see the mountain and stay at the hotsprings has increased considerably. They don't want to lose her to a Terran."

"How about Eli?"

"Oh, she's already gone. That is, if your friend passes the tests. He passed the first one. The horse liked him. He got on a Faerie horse, and he's just learned how to ride. That takes a lot of courage." He looked at Alice with a smile. "Remember, what you learn here stays here."

Alice smiled back. "Obviously."

 

Eli led Severus through the streets to a wide boulevard divided by a stream that flowed to the lake. It led up to the largest building he had seen, set up against the base of the highest hill, in the center of Avalon, the sacred Tor with the spiral path to the summit. They dismounted at the steps, where Takeshi, Emerald, and Eileen were waiting.  
T  
"You ponies go enjoy your party," Eli said after she had removed the crystal from Selena and handed it to Severus,  and the horses dashed off. "The dead soldiers come back to ride, it's great. Horses reincarnate right away, they get to play again with their rider. Ari loves Samhain because he can rejoin his. You see, when you enlist as a Warrior, you train with only one horse, and that horse has to volunteer for military duty. Your horse is your buddy. The bond becomes very tight. We all have to train for the Militia, but only a few are Warriors, and that requires special training One of the reasons we volunteer with Terran military organizations is to get actual experience with combat, we haven't had it here, and we want to keep it that way 'The better you can fight the less you have to,' you know. We guard the gateways and enemies are not getting in."

 

The group entered the Temple and they went down a hall to the Crone's office. Severus looked at the woman, wearing a black hooded robe, with silver grey hair cut short, with a lined face that glowed with an inner light he could barely perceive, as if the frequency was outside the limits of his sight to process. She smiled at him, and waved him to a seat near a desk. She sat across from him and told him to give her his left hand. He held it out to her, and she took it in her right hand, With her left hand, she put the point of her athame's blade in the center of the palm. He did not react, and she smiled, and lightly jabbed his palm, so that a drop of blood formed. She dipped the athame in the blood and then put the blade in a small silver cauldron. A curl of green mist came out of the cauldron and formed a shape in the air, that looked like a dragon.

Emerald and the Crone beamed at each other. "He is the One." She turned to Severus. "You are welcome to share our knowledge, Severus."

Takeshi took out his wand. "Time to take the Unbreakable Vow, son. Join hands."

 Eli and Severus grasped each other’s hand. Takeshi used his wand to create a magical web that sealed them together, as the Crone recited a spell in the ancient tongue. “Severus Snape, do you agree to abide by the laws and traditions of Faerie, and that you will not reveal what you learn to anyone on the other side of the mists?” “I do”

“Eli le Fey, do you agree to protect Severus Snape, to keep his secrets, will you defend him with your life?” “I do”

Severus had not anticipated that Eli would be sworn to such a vow. For the first time in his life he felt safe, knowing he had a Warrior as a sworn sister, and he instinctively knew that all of her family would be at his back.

The Crone spoke a prayer in what Severus now knew to be the original language of the Fey. He looked into Eli's eyes, into the colors reflected in them, and felt himself being drawn into an aura that encircled her, which spread over his entire body. At the end of the spell, the aura faded, and everyone smiled at them. "Enjoy the festival." The Crone stepped through a door at the back of her office, and they left the temple.

 

"What was that about?" Severus asked Eli, as she led him back to her flat.

"Oh, well, you see, it was a blood test, and registry. The mist turned green because you have Faerie ancestry, and the dragon shape was for your Y chromosome, you are a descendant of the Pendragon."

"You expect me to believe..."

"Believe what you want, DNA doesn't lie." She stopped at a white marble and black granite monument, with a doorway set into it. "That's Arthur's Tomb."

He walked to the door and traced a carved dragon, identical to the one formed by the green mist over the silver cauldron. "May I enter?'

"Not yet. Be patient, my prince."

"Do you honestly expect me to accept that my father, that wife-beating Muggle drunk, is descended from ARTHUR?"

"He is, but since he has no magic, since his mother was not a witch, the gene was dormant. I can get you a book on the topic if you're interested."

 

She hurried him down the streets as the sun neared the horizon. They went to Eli's flat, where Alice was waiting with Older Sister, who had laid out two sets of black ritual robes for them. "Get dressed and let's get out to watch the sunset. Use your wands, we don't have time." They obeyed her. Eli opened the catflap.

"Don't worry, Alice, Morrigan won't wander far." They left the flat and went to the lake shore, where people were gathering. The setting sun turned the lake brilliant shades of red, violet, and purple, then faded as the sun disappeared.

Older Sister suggested that they go to the Main Temple and watch the torchlight processional up the spiral path to the top of the Tor. She led them through the crowded streets to the temple stairs, where they joined with Eileen, Emerald, Takeshi, and Athena Addington. They moved to find a better spot to watch as the High Priestess led the processional out of the back of the Temple to the path. Each person carried a Faerie fire torch.

 

"Shall we go to my place to eat? Everyone cooks a lot for the visitors we get. Come on, the view of the Tor is fantastic from where we live." They walked to a hill near the entrance to the College of Druids, and climbed a winding path to a bungalow. They entered, leaving the door open for anyone wishing to join them. Emerald and Eileen went next door to her place to begin carrying the food prepared by Emerald's parents for the party.

"If you get tired and want to rest, come to my place," she told her guests. Musicians began to play as relatives, neighbors, and friends stopped by.

Alice watched the parade of guests with interest. "How can you tell if they are alive or dead?" she asked Eli.

"For the time between the sunsets, they are alive, I guess. They have bodies," Eli explained. "When they go back the bodies go back to the elements that formed them, when they cross the veil."

"I bet they wish they could stay."

"If they do, they can ask to be reincarnated."

 

"You kids should come out to watch this," Takeshi told them. They followed him out the door to watch as the processional wound its way to the summit, the lights merging to form a shimmering cone of light that spilled down the sides of the hill, to envelope the entire island in an eerie, eldritch light.

Severus had never felt this much magical power in one place before, such a concentration of power was unknown in his realm. Alice and her mother stood silently, half frightened, half thrilled at the glorious sight.

Things would not be the same at Hogwarts, Severus knew. He was changed forever, his mind expanded with the realization that the magic he had learned was compromised by the power struggles and political motives of those who put themselves in charge of magic in his realm.

 

Emerald joined them. "Severus, dear, I hope you don't think I'm imposing on your life, but I'm trying to help your mother. I'd live to get her out of the house more, so I would like to invite both of you to all of the festivals, and Sundays at the Farm of course. I know that's taking you away from your father and the school, but you wouldn't mind that too much . .. I know how you're being treated at Hogwarts."

"She needs to leave him," Severus said.

"But she has nowhere to go.  And she loves him, she is one of those rare people who never stops loving once she's started.  So are you, Severus.  It's not a bad way to be, but you have to learn to protect yourself, and keep a safe distance from those who don't want it, or can't reciprocate, or don't deserve it."  Emerald put her arm around his shoulder and walked him to her flat.  They sat near the hearth.

"Takeshi always loved your mother, you know.  But he couldn't be what she wanted, a family man, staying home with her and her children.  He was a Warrior, he was a Bard, he could not settle down.  You know i'm a lot older than he is ... when I met him he was your age, at the Inn Gwydion and Katsumi Morgan run.  Every year he would wait for me under the cherry blossoms, singing songs he'd written for me.  My mother took pity on him and invited him to Avalon and he was a hit.  Then when he was 19, I had a dream sent by a soul who was ready to reincarnate, and had chosen him for the father.  The next Beltane I conceived, and had Jeanne-Marie.  Two years later, I dreamed of another soul, and we had Eli.  That's only a small part about Faerie reproduction, it's a Mystery we keep mostly to the Mothers, on a need to know basis."

"You stayed together, I know you never marry, but he's been with you ever since, he's never stopped returning."  

"That's not usually the case, with Terrans or the Fey, is it?  It's rare for pairings to last a lifetime, but sometimes they do.  You can't know the outcome when you first get involved, that's the problem.  Learning how to move on is often very difficult.  That's why we need to help your mother."

Severus could not hold back tears.  "I wish I knew how to thank you," he said in a shaky voice.  

She pulled him to her chest.  "Cry, my little one, let the pain go.  You are safe here." and crooned a lullaby in the ancient tongue.  Severus drifted into his dreams, and Emerald gently wiped his tears away, settled him in down pillows and covered him with a blanket.  Eli and Alice soon joined him.

 

Severus woke up before first light.  Asimov handed him a mug of coffee.  The smell woke up Eli, then Alice.  Eli gathered up the pillows and blankets and put them in the linen closet.  "There's a great spot to watch the sunrise," Metatron said.  They left and climbed the hill to a spot where a view of the lake was visible between the hills.  The sky began to light up, the mist on the lake glowing.  Asimov removed an assortment of filled pastries and they ate those as they watched the sun rise.  

 

 

"Where to now?" Eli said.  

"Let's go over to your place, and watch the Horse Games."  They walked down the hill and across the island, the streets already beginning to get crowded.  

"The other Festivals I can bring more guests, but you can see how popular Samhain is, we get so many people coming to visit we have to restrict how many of the still living can come.  Did you have any good dreams?"  They discussed their dreams as they walked, stopping often to chat with friends and acquaintances. The Equestrian Park was already beginning the competitions.  Jeanne-Marie's horse, Secretariat, was entering for the first time, and he had a qualifying race in about half an hour, so they went to the track and got good positions on the infield rail.  

"They put the horses in groups according to age, and then the time determines which horses get into the final races, they take the top horses from all the races.  We've also got a cross country challenge, that's for the adult horses, over 20.  They mature slowly but then they live to be about 100.  

When Secretariat's heat was announced, the stands filled quickly.  The odds were put on the board.  "You gamble here?" Alice asked.

 "Sure, people wager all sorts of things on races."

 "How long is the course?"

 "Standard, seven miles.  Anything under five miles is a sprint for these horses."  

 

Secretariat won his heat easily.  He took the lead from the first stride and kept increasing it.  When the times came up, a cheer rose from the stands.  Jeanne-Marie smiled and waved to the crowd.  "He's in the final.  Let's go congratulate Older Sister and go watch the Yabusame competition."  Eli explained that the teams were designated as Home Team for the living, and Visitors for the guests.  "The Home Team doesn't do well, as a rule," she said.  "Always bet on the visitors."

They ate lunch at the mess hall, where Eli introduced her friends to her fellow cadets and trainers.  She took them on a tour of the stables, which were more like large rooms, without floors, since horses didn't like to walk on rugs, or stone and concrete floors found in human habitation.  "They're like dancers, they like a more shock absorbing surface, we use a gravel base, add sand, then tamp it down, with heaps of flax for bedding.  They're housebroken and use one special area for their toilets; the waste is collected and turned into fertilizer and fuel."  

 

They spent the afternoon at the College of Druids. Severus was fascinated.  The library was beyond expectations, the laboratories something he could only dream of.  Eli introduced her friends to a Druid named Kellia, who had been her Alchemy professor.  She explained that this included potions.  "This is Severus, he's the best in the class, he's helping me." she said.

The Druid grinned.  "You must be a better teacher than me, Eli never was much good at mixing things."  

"The competition isn't as fierce there," Eli said.

"This is beyond anything they have at Hogwart's," Severus said.  He wondered how he could ask to be allowed to study here.  The Crone had told him he was welcome to their knowledge, so he hoped he could set something up. Now that he knew he'd be able to come here often, he wanted to get started.  

An elder Faerie tapped his shoulder.  "Severus?"  he said.

"Yes, I'm Severus Snape."

"I'm Micheal.  Your paternal great grandfather.  This is Ariel and Orion, your maternal great grandfather and  great great grandfather on your mother's side."

"Are you dead or alive?"

Micheal laughed.  I am alive and so is Ariel, Orion died some time ago.  We heard you would be here and tracked you down."

Ariel said, " How are you progressing with the book I gave my son?"  

"Eli is helping me get through it."  

"I hope you'll come back often."  

They all went together to find Eileen to introduce her to these new found relations.   Severus could not remember seeing his mother as happy as she was when she met them. He was still getting used to the idea he was part Faerie and that he was a direct male descendant of Arthur.   Alice seemed to read his thoughts and leaned over and squeezed his hand.  "I always knew there was more to you than met the eye," Alice said.  "If only those Griffyndor bullies knew who you really are.  I'm glad I'm one of the few who does.  I'd like to be your friend, Severus."

"I would like to be your friend, Alice."

"Morrigan likes you, and cats are a better judge of character than we are," she said. 

 

Eli and her friends and cousins decided to walk to the top of the Tor along the spiral path.  Metatron explained the significance of the pathway, pointed out various architectural and natural features as they walked.  Alice was fascinated.  Avalon was lit with Faerie fire for the holiday, and it was so enchanting, so breathtaking, she thought, beyond any of her dreams or fantasies.  

They got to the top and looked around, across the lake to the distant shores, obscured by the mists. 

 

The music was playing and Takeshi's place.  The party there had spilled out to the front yard, so the group went next door to Emerald's place to get some food.  After they ate, Asmimov turned to Alice and said, "I know Eli doesn't dance, but do you?"  

"Yes, I do.

"Would you like to dance with me?"

Alice jumped and and they went outside to join the revelry.  

 

Eileen, Ariel, Orion and Micheal came to talk to Severus about his legacy, told him stories of his grandparents and of their lives.  Eli's deceased relatives stopped by to chat from time to time as the night passed.  Near dawn the three friends decided to go back to Eli's flat and get some sleep.  Morrigan and Max were sleeping on her bed so they bedded down in front of the fire.  

The next morning Severus said he wanted to go to the College again so they went there until the afternoon, then went to watch more of the games held at the military plaza until it was time for the final race.  

They went back to Eli's flat to collect their things and change back into their Terran clothing.  Then they went to the racecourse, where they joined their parents in the stands, for the final race.  The odds flashed on the board.  "Secretariat is co favorite with Xanthos, he's won the past three years. This should be a great race, the times were all pretty close," Takeshi told them. `

 

The horses lined up for the start.  The starting bell rang and they took off.  Jeanne-Marie took the lead immediately.  Because the track contained an S curve, there was no advantage in getting to the rail at the beginning.  "That's risky, taking the lead at the start.  Unless she can get the other horses to let her run her race," said Eli.  The horses stayed bunched for the first two miles, with Secretariat keeping a length ahead.  Xanthos kept back, waiting.  At mile five he made his move, coming up through the other horses, to position himself to take the rail for the final curve, but Secretariat neatly cut off his path.  In the final mile, Xanthos made his challenge, pulling up beside the chestnut.  He lengthened his stride and kept the lead.  As the other horses fell back, the two leaders gave it all they had, racing for the finish line  With a quarter mile to go, Xanthos was running out of steam.  He began to drop back, and Secretariat increased his lead, finished three lengths ahead.  

They went to congratulate Jeanne-Marie, making their way through a crowd of people surrounding the horses and riders.  Takeshi hugged his eldest daughter, fed the horse some chocolate, then announced, "We're going to the lake to watch the sun set, then back to the Farm."  They wound their way through the crowd, stopping to talk frequently, and found a place in the apple grove.  Asimov gave each of them a bag of apples, saying, "Wait until you see the trees in bloom." They watched the sun drop beneath the horizon, and the visitors returned to their realm, disappearing behind the veil.  

Takeshi led the group back to the gateway.  They walked to an opening in the cave wall and entered.  Eli called the mists and they walked through them to the gateway on the Farm.  Cordelia had called for a boat to take them back to Hogwarts and they sailed back as Takeshi brought their mothers home.  "Well, that was quite the adventure," Alice said.  "Morrigan seems happy.  She's been purring in her sleep.  I don't know why you would leave such a place, I wouldn't leave if it were my home."  

 

When they got off the boat, Remus and Lily were waiting for them.  Eli spoke quickly, "I'm really tired, I have to get some sleep, see y'all tomorrow," and beat a hasty retreat.  Remus watched her go with an unmistakable expression of pain.  

"How was it?" Lily asked.  

"It was amazing.  I have some pictures, I can show you later."  

Alice yawned.  "I'm getting back to the dorm and getting caught up on my sleep, see you in class tomorrow," she said.  

"Show us some pictures, Severus," Lily said.  Severus took out the memory sphere, and set the controls to start with the last picture taken.  A picture of Alice and Eli with Secretariat and Jeanne-Marie, the horse's shoulders draped with a wreath of chrysanthemums.

 "That's her older sister and her horse.  They won the race, they have equestrian games.  You know I even got to ride a Faerie horse."

 "I'm afraid of horses, and those look terrifying," Lily said.  

"Are all the women in Faerie beautiful?" asked Remus.  

"Yes, and so are all the men, I'm afraid, Lupin, you wouldn't have a chance," Severus replied.  

 

Professor Magonagall came into the boathouse.  "Lily, Remus, it's almost curfew."  They left the boathouse. "I'll escort you to your dorm, Severus."  They walked down to the dungeons.  "How is your mother?  You know we were classmates but we didn't stay in touch after her marriage."

 "She enjoyed it.  Eli's mother is trying to help her get out of the house more, she doesn't have many friends."

 "It's hard to be married to a Muggle.  I know I can trust you not to repeat this, but I was once in love with a Muggle.  I decided not to marry him, it just wouldn't be fair to either of us.  I know some marriage work, but it's hard.  I'm glad she's got friends now."  

Severus handed her an apple.  She smiled at him.  "I'll see you in class tomorrow, Severus.  Sleep well."  

 

The next month Eli kept busy with music, learning the material that would be played at the Yule ball by Takeshi and the band.  Two of the singers had a lot of talent, but the keyboard player was slacking off.  The boy playing drums had a lot of raw talent and energy, Eli liked working with him.  She was assigned to play bass, her favorite instrument.  They decided to add a horn section, "make it a real show band" and include some dance standards.   

Narcissa Black had begun to loiter in the halls near the music rooms when Takeshi was there, and it was noticed by everyone.  She had no musical talent, and had never shown any interest in music.  She  began to annoy Takeshi.  One day when Horace was visiting the class, he complained of her stalking him. "It really creeps me out to have that child following me around.  I don't like any of her clan and don't want to be bothered with her, could you do something, Horace?"

 "It's a rather delicate matter, and she is rather .. . sensitve, shall we say."  

"Barking mad, you mean," added Flitcraft.  "That's what happens when you keep marrying your cousins," said Takeshi.

 

Eli and Severus met as often as they could in the library room they shared.  They had filled the shelves with Faerie texts and learning tools, and installed a scrying mirror.  On the weekends they trained with weapons and dueling, in an informal dojo they shared with Alice, Eleutheria, and Vivienne.  Severus realized the critical importance of physical training, to develop a strong body able to withstand the demands of combat magic.  The mirror connected them with the trainers at the Army base in Avalon;

The more time his mother spent with Eli's clan the happier she became.  She was more like the woman Severus remembered before things got so bad at home, when money got so tight, jobs so hard to find.  

 


	7. Yule Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takeshi and Eli play at the Yule Party, Lucius gets beat down again, and Eli and the Friends of the Fey attend their first all night party on the Farm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It should be remembered that domestic violence, like most violence against women, was simply not discussed, and there was virtually no protection for women and children in the 1970s. Dating violence was far from uncommon, even seen as "proof" that a man cared. It's depressing that all these years later very little has been done to eliminate this problem.

 http://www.goddessandgreenman.co.uk/yule

_At Samhain we honour, celebrate and welcome the descent into, and return of, the dark - the beginning of the New Year, acknowledging that all beginnings emerge from darkness. At the Winter Solstice we reach the depth of that darkness with the longest night of the year. Darkness has reached its peak._

_"Now we start to wonder: will this continue? Will the Earth grow darker and colder as the Sun disappears into the south until only darkness is left? But at Yule a wonderful thing happens. The Sun stops its decline and for a few days it rises in about the same place. This is the crucial time, the cusp between events. The Sun stands still, and everyone waits for the turning._

_In our heads we know the light will return. But in the darkness of Winter, can we be sure? do our hearts believe what our heads tell us? Will the light keep its promises? We all have moments of darkness, when we don't know how much deeper we will go before the light starts to return (or even if it will). The world has moments too; it understands us, and lives as we do._

_The Sun does start north again and the light comes back. In the world, in our lives, the light comes back. This is indeed something worth celebrating, and it has been celebrated throughout the Northern Hemisphere in remarkably similar ways." (quote from The Pagan Family by Ceisiwr Serith)_

_**The Festival of Rebirth and The Return of the Sun** _

_With the end of the longest night the dark is defeated with the Return of the Sun, the return of light, hope and promise. The Goddess gives birth to the Sun/Sun God. The Sun begins to wax and the days grow longer. All that is hidden will begin to emerge. This is the Sun's birthday! And it really is time to celebrate!_  
 

 

 **_T_ ** _**he Oak King and The Holly King** _

_The Holly King rules over the_ _dark part of the year from Midsummer to Yule, he is God of the Waning Year. At Yule he surrenders his life to the young light Oak King, God of the Waxing Year and his twin, who rules over the light part of the year from Yule to Midsummer. Both rule for half of the year, both fight for the favour and love of the Goddess and both surrender their life force for the well-being of the land. In truth, they are one._

_ _

 

YULE 1973

Eli had agonized over what to wear to the Yule Ball.  She didn’t want to have to socialize with anyone there, she was glad she would be on stage since she couldn’t dance.  She settled on a ballerina length green velvet flared skirt and matching cocoon jacket over a silver mesh T shirt.  She wore silver dance shoes and silver mesh stockings.  She borrowed Cordelia’s amethyst suite, a coronet, necklace, earrings, and matching ankle and wrist bracelets.  Ordinarily she didn’t like to wear jewelry or makeup, but when you’re onstage, you must glitter. She knew when the lights hit her, she would be enveloped in purple sparks as the jewels reflected and refracted the light as she moved.   

Takeshi wore black tie, since it was a "formal" party.  Of course, his entire outfit, including the shirt, was black.  All black outfits were part of his image, originally because he didn't want to bother with matching things.  He wore matching black pearl cuff links and studs, a large solitaire diamond in his ear, and a ring with what looked rather like an Alexandrite, that changed colors as the light changed, on his right hand.  They got in a one horse sleigh, piloted by Nils, and dropped off at the front door of Hogwarts.  Nils told them he would be back with the sleigh and a larger one for Eli and her friends, when the party ended.  

  

The students in the band gathered in the Great Hall and compared outfits.  The girls broke out their makeup kits and went to work on each other.  The staff arrived early, and the band began to warm up when Takeshi arrived.  “Let’s go over the waltz, OK?” he said.  The band members took their places on the stage, and they rehearsed the piece as the staff members danced with each other. Minerva was the best of them, it was clear she’d spent a lot of time on the dance floor in her life.

A large round table had been set up for the use of the band.  Eli invited Severus to sit at that table, since she knew he didn’t have a date. She thought it was ridiculous of the school to push dating so young; they seemed to think that it was proper for students to pair off while still in their teens, get married right after school and begin to pump out babies.  Even Muggles were abandoning that idiotic schema.  It was no wonder that the educational standards, to say nothing of the professions, were so low.  The Fey never stopped their educations, learning was for life.    

When the doors opened Severus came to the table and sat down, with his room mate George Cameron.  Eli liked him; despite his mother's hatred of the Fey he was always nice to her.  Albus greeted the students and guests, mostly some of the Ministry overseers. Eli was unpleasantly surprised to see Lucius Malfoy, with Narcissa Black hanging on his arm, speaking to them.  She was glad the band table was on the other side of the hall from the VIP table.   

The band began with the dance tunes, and some of the students got up to dance, joining the adult VIPs on the floor.  Lucius looked at the band, and scowled.  Narcissa hadn’t told him who was playing.  She knew how he felt about Morgan and his daughter.  She knew how Eli had made him a laughingstock in his alma mater.  He hated the Faerie bitch, even more than her father.

Lucius noticed the expression on Narcissa’s face when she looked at Takeshi.  His heart began to pound with rage.  She never looked at him that way.  He knew she was more interested in his estate and bloodlines than him, but she was making him look a fool, casting sheep’s eyes on that Muggle loving Faerie fucker.  She would pay for her indiscretion. 

Narcissa was not the only woman in the audience with that expression. 

 

Eli was approaching the table when she saw Lily and Remus nearing them.  She told Severus, “I need to get some air, it’s hot under the lights and I always work up a sweat when I play.”  She dashed behind the stage to the French doors leading to the garden in the courtyard.  She stayed there until it was time go to back on stage. 

The second set was original compositions by Takeshi, and more of the students began to approach the stage, “like it was a Muggle rock concert” Malfoy complained to anyone who would listen.  After the set was over, Narcissa had the nerve to try and go speak to Takeshi.  He grabbed her arm so tightly she cried out.  He tightened his grip and marched her out the side doors to the courtyard.  He didn’t notice Eli at the other side of the yard, where she had hidden herself after leaving the stage. 

Malfoy grabbed the woman by the shoulders and shook her violently.  “What is wrong with you, you crazy whore, chasing after that half breed?  You’re supposed to be MY WOMAN, you don’t look at other men!  I warned you about this!”  Narcissa froze up in terror, as she had since her own father began beating her at an early age.  She’s learned resistance was futile, just get the beating over with. She stood with her head down, cowering. Her abject surrender made Lucius get excited. He got sexually aroused by physically abusing women. He yanked her hair and slapped her across the mouth, then forced her head down to his crotch.

Eli ran up to Malfoy, and when he turned to face her, she backhanded him across the face so hard he was knocked off balance and fell against the wall.  She grabbed him by the throat and pulled him to his feet, choking and sputtering.  “Get .. . out . .. of … my … business,” he croaked.  “You make it my business when you do it where I can see it.  You like beating on women, eh, Malfoy?  Care to take me on, one on one, no magic, just see who can beat the other down?  How about it, tough guy? What, are you afraid of a little girl like me?” 

“Get away from me, you Faerie dyke.”  Eli laughed at him, and spun a side kick to his abdomen.  He collapsed in a heap.  “Don’t ever show your face to me on this campus, Malfoy.  That’s your second strike.  You wouldn’t want to find out what happens when you strike out with a Faerie.”   Malfoy was in a helpless rage.  He had been humiliated twice by a 13 year old girl.   

She went back in to the hall and told Albus what happened. He and Minerva went to the courtyard, where Narcissa was attempting to use her wand to disguise the marks on her face and the blood trickling out of her nose.

Severus found her behind the stage. “Why are you hiding?  Lily wants to meet you.”  She looked down. 

“Severus, she’s your oldest friend, I don’t want to say anything against her.” 

“What is it?  Don’t lie to me.” 

“It’s just … I don’t trust her, Severus, I just don’t.  You know I don’t trust many Terrans, it’s nothing personal, I’m like this to almost everyone, you know.  And you know I can't stand to be around Lupin.  He creeps me out.  Maybe he's not as bad as his pals, but I still don't like him.” 

“She picked up on your not so subtle hint and went back to her friends, and they hate me, so you’re stuck with me, I guess.” 

“But I like being with you, Severus.  I can trust you, like Alice, Eleutheria, and Vivienne.” 

“Maybe they have Faerie blood like I do.” She smiled.

 

Takeshi came up to them.  “One more set and we can go to the Farm.  Eli, you need to stop beating up Malfoy, you’ll give that inbred twit a complex.  Albus told me what you did.  He’s got it coming, can’t say I blame you.  Malfoy's been banned from Hogwarts indefinitely.  The Black girl tried to deny anything had happened, but there were already bruises beginning to show.  She's in the Infirmary for counseling.  She says he really loves her and she slipped, he didn't mean to hurt her.” 

The band started the last set.  They got into some serious rocking out, and by the end of the set the audience was on their feet, dancing and clapping.  Remus Lupin stood in a corner near the stage, staring at Eli.  Sirius and Severus noticed him, and neither of them liked the way he was looking at her.  When they finished an encore, the lights went up on the Great Hall, and Prof Flitcraft congratulated them.  “You did very well, all of you, thank you for your time.  Go take them to your grandmother’s party, I will be by later.  He gave each of them a small package. 

 

Takeshi gathered up Eli and her friends, and they got their cloaks, left the Hall for the waiting sleighs.  Vivienne brought out a bottle of aqua vitae and they passed it around as the sleigh moved through the night, through the drifting snowflakes, enveloped in the sound of silver bells.  Eli opened the package and found a silver curb link bracelet with two charms on it, a bass guitar and a branch of mistletoe.  +you know he gives his students charms for every performance and every instrument they play," Vivienne said. Eli put the bracelet on her right arm.  

Eleutheria let out a prolonged oooh of delight when they turned up the drive and she saw the Farm decorated for the holiday, with real Faerie lights outlining the buildings, every window lit up with a candle.  They could hear the music as they neared the entrance and smell the food as they alit from the sleighs and entered the hall.  Eli had explained the Morgan tradition of giving all of the house elves and stable Nisser holidays off.  Severus knew the Morgans were thought to be radical elf supporters, which of course, they were.  All of them wore garments of the finest cloth made by the same tailors and dressmakers the humans used.  

It was also traditional to have several different parties in different parts of the estate.  Eli, her school friends, and her cousins from Avalon and Torayama decided their outpost would be Eli's loft.  They programmed the dojo mirror to tie in with a party on Avalon and one on the mountain.  Eli went to her vanity table and removed the jewelry she was wearing.  She threw herself across her bed.  

Eleutheria sat down next to her.  "Tell us everything,  You beat up Malfoy again?  What the hell happened?  I saw him grab Black and drag her out of the Hall."  

Eli grinned.  "He roughed her up and I gave him another lesson in manners.  Dude needs to learn how to treat a lady.  Not that she is one."  

Severus scowled.  "That daft bint should dump him."  Eli sensed the anger behind his words.

"Who else would want her?" Eleutheria scoffed.  "His family has money, that's enough for her.  She wants money, she wants power, but she won't work for it, and thinks she can marry it.  As if there is ever a Happily Ever After for a woman who expects a prince to rescue her.  That's so medieval!"

Alice said, "I'm not going to make my mother's mistake.  She got married right out of school, all the girls felt they had to get a ring on their finger or they'd failed.  So she settled for the first boy who made an offer, and they didn't last long.  He was the Best Boy, everyone said she was so lucky to catch him, but he never wanted to grow up. He's on his third marriage, I don't even bother calling him anymore.  He was just a sperm donor, not a father.  I want to have kids but only with a man who wants them more than I do."  

Vivienne brought over a hashish pipe and passed it around.  "I want to write, and I need my own space.  I know it's not socially acceptable to say this, but I never want to get married, and I don't want to have children.  I mean, I love my family, but my mother's life is just not for me.  My aunt never got married and she's had a great life.  You can't really live your life if you have to follow someone else's script."  

Eli grinned.  "I'm glad I'm a Faerie, I sure as hell couldn't be like that.  These gender roles you've got here, it really sucks to be a girl here.  It's dangerous; lots of times my sister and I just transform ourselves into animus form so we don't attract violence.  It's like it's a crime to be female or something, it's worse in the Muggle world but the wizards can be just as bad.  I mean, look at Malfoy, he was really shocked that I would stop him from slapping around his girlfriend.  And she was just taking it, just whimpering and sniveling, not even trying to fight back.  If he's like this now, what will he be like when they're married?"

 

She got up and went to the table for a cup of wassail.  Her cousins were using the mirror to join a dance party in Avalon, and everyone but Eli and Severus went to join them.  "I don't know how to dance," she said.  

"I know.  Let's just stay here by the fire and listen to the music."

 "First I want to get out of this girly outfit."  She went to the bathroom and came out in a couple of minutes dressed in a sweatsuit.  She hung up her clothes in the wardrobe, then got pillows and blankets out of the linen closet.

"I'm beat.  Performing really takes it out of me."  She tossed a pillow on the hearth rug and stretched out on the floor.  He followed her example and they lay next to each other in front of the fire, as the moon crossed the sky on the longest night of the year.  Eli yawned.  "I don't think I'll be able to stay awake all night, sorry I'm not better company,"

 Severus smiled.  "I like being here with you.  I feel safe."  

"That's nice, Severus. I like being with you."  She yawned again, curled up on her side, and her eyes closed.  Severus sat very still and watched her.  One of the cats from the stable climbed in his lap and went to sleep.    

He'd been sitting there for a few minutes when his mother and Emerald came up the spiral stairway.  Emerald went to the studio to join the Avalon dancers.  Eileen sat next to her son.  She smiled at him.  "I loved coming here when I was in school.  I thought I'd never see it again, but here I am, thanks to you, Severus.  It's nice to be able to come here, it's a break from home."  

"You have to leave him."

 "I know.  I love you, Severus."

 "I know."  He put his head on her shoulder and she held him close.

 "Things will get better, my son."  She kissed the top of his head and stroked his hair.

 

When Emerald came back Eileen joined her and they returned to the main house. Severus covered himself with a blanket and settled down into a pillow, curled on his side facing Eli.  He reached out and took her hand underneath his blanket, then closed his eyes.  

He woke up to the smell of coffee.  Jeanne-Marie was handing out mugs.  "Time to open presents, let's move, people!"  she said.  Those gifts are not going to unwrap themselves."

 

The tree in the middle of the Great Hall was resplendent with glittering decorations, surrounded by piles of presents.  The kitchen table was completely covered with platters of food, pastries, meats, Avalon apples, and they all helped themselves.  Cordelia distributed the presents from her seat by the fire, using her wand to levitate the present to the recipient.  "I didn't have time to shop for all my guests," she apologized, when she gave Eli's friends and their mothers earrings of their birthstones, and a certificate for a complete outfit at the most exclusive women's shoppe in Diagon Alley.  "Get a new dress for New Year's."  

Severus got a certificate for a credit card for the best haberdasher in the Alley, with a package containing cuff links and matching shirt studs, gold set with the blackest of opals that reflected an aurora of colors.  "They belonged to my father,"  she said.  "I like to see people wearing beautiful things instead of just letting them sit in the vault."

 

Cordelia sent a long, flat package to Eli.  "I bet it's a sword," she whispered to Severus.

 When it floated to her, Cordelia spoke.  "Everyone, gather round, pay attention.  Open the package, Eli."  She removed the wrapping and opened the box, and took out a sword in a dragon hide scabbard.  The pommel was an uncut diamond larger than a goose egg, set in grip long enough to use with two hands.  "This is Dyrnwyn," the lady breathed.  "Held in trust by the Morgan ladies until now."  The house elves began to mutter to each other in excited voices.  

"As you know, only the one who has earned the right to carry this sword can do so.  Anyone else will be scorched by the fire that protects the one who owns it."  Eli did not hesitate.  She drew the sword from the scabbard and held it aloft.  The Faerie metal gave off its own aura of iridescence.   Everyone in the room cheered.

 "This is heavy!"  Eli said.  Takeshi laughed.  

"It will be years before you are able to wield it, young one.  This is a broadsword, you will have to learn a new style, it's not like your saber.  YOu use the saber on horseback, and this on the ground.  It's a living sword, you know, like Excalibur.  You will have to learn to work together with the sword."  

 

The rest of the day went quickly, and too soon, Takeshi announced he would be taking everyone home.  Some of the parents chose to ride the train to London with their children, to go shopping in Diagon Alley, to catch the after Yule sales.  Eli got in the limo with Alice, Athena, Severus, and Eileen.  Morrigan was ensconced in her new cat carrier, a custom made bag by Hermes that Jeanne-Marie had commissioned.  "It's Muggle made but it's still quite nice," she said.  "I put the charms on myself."  The bag had a wide, cross body strap making it easy for Alice to carry the cat and have both hands free.  They were dropped off first, at the home of Athena's parents where they would spend the rest of the holiday break. 

When they got to Spinner's End, Emerald, Eli and Takeshi went with Eileen and Severus.  Tobias was sober, much to Severus's surprise.  He smiled at his guests.  

"Merry Christmas, Tobias," said Takeshi, handing him a package.

 "I got your invitation to spend New Year's in London, thanks.  I would like to see the town, it's been a long time."

 "You can have the guest room, we're going there now to spend the entire break," said Emerald, setting down a packet of train tickets to London.  "Stop by any time." 

 

Severus went to his room and wrote a note to Lily, asking her to meet him at their usual spot as soon as she could.  He'd written her a poem and had a present for her, a silver locket with a moonstone, with both of their pictures.  He sent his mother's owl.  There was no return note.  

The next day Severus went to the playground and waited for Lily, who didn't show up at all.  He knew she was at home but he didn't want to go there.  For the next two days he went to the same place, and she didn't appear.  On Christmas Eve, he got a note via owl, from her, explaining that she had forgotten to tell him her family was invited to spend the 12 Days with Gryffindor families, mixed Muggle and Wizard.  He went to his room and shut the door.  He burned the poem in the brazier he used in his potion experiments, and melted down the locket, watching the images bubble and fade in in the retort.  

After Christmas day had passed, Eileen went to her son's door and knocked.  She didn't wait for him to invite her in, she just went in.  Severus was in bed, his eyes swollen.  "We're going to London tomorrow morning, dear.  We'll stay there until it's time for you to go back to school.   

The Snape family spent the next week in London. Eli and Severus spent their days exploring London, dressed identically in black leather jackets and Levi's. In the evenings they went to music clubs, attended the ballet, or hosted informal holiday, mixed Muggle and Wizard. Tobias was on his best behavior, thanks in part to Emerald's intervention. Jeanne-Marie spent her time with Emerald and Eileen, shopping in Diagon Alley and once, on a day trip to Paris.

Eli didn't ask Severus why he was so depressed. She knew.  Severus had an excellent knowledge of local history, Muggle and wizarding, so they spent most of their time exploring the hidden places, the secret alleyways, obscure shops, clandestine gathering places; he was an excellent source of  arcane information about London.  She wanted him to talk about things he knew, let him teach her, so he wouldn't dwell on his unhappiness.  

Eli played a lot of music for him.  She didn't like most of the "popular" music of the time.  She hated the Rolling Stones, not just for their disgusting lyrics, but for their lack of talent, and their contempt for what the blues were.  Led Zeppelin made her want to throw up.  The lead singer, with his out of tune shrill yowling of words that made her want to beat him down and bloody his face, the sloppy nattering of the guitar, played by that "CreepyCrowley wannabe" offended her sensibilities, but she did like the drummer, and felt that John Paul Jones was slumming.  But he got paid a good bit for his prostituting his talent, she supposed.  David Bowie was all right, but not all that.  She loved Wishbone Ash, and many of the American bands, the guitar bands, like the Allman Brothers, and of course Johnny Winter.  He looked like a white trash Malfoy, his lyrics could have been the soundtrack of Sirius Black's fantasies, but she didn't get the angry misogyny of many of the popular groups from him, he was playful, rather than hostile.   Motown soul music appealed to Severus.   He identified with it.   Eli knew he was a soul man, like the song went.  

 

 

New Year's Eve was the first Muggle holiday Eli had experienced. Vivienne, her parents, Theodora and Martin Turner, Alice and Athena Addington were attending, as well as several Muggle musicians. Everyone in the building had an open door, and the parties lasted all night. Alice, Vivienne, Eli and Severus took blankets up to the roof so they could watch the fireworks.

The next day, Emerald took the adults and Jeanne-Marie to see the Royal Ballet, and Takeshi took Eli and her friends to Dublin to see Rory Gallagher, their first rock concert.  Jeanne-Marie made over Eileen, dressed her in a magnificent dress in dragon's blood red silk, with pearl jewelry, her hair styled in the latest Muggle mode.  Tobias, who was still the same size as Takeshi (neither of them had put on any weight since their band years, and often shared clothes then) wore one of Takeshi's tuxedos, with Severus's black opal cuff links and studs.  Severus and the girls were amazed at the transformation of the Snapes.  They looked as posh as the Malfoys, Alice remarked.   

In contrast, the group going to Dublin "dressed down," Takeshi explaining that Rory didn't go in for flash, and there was nothing worse than being overdressed.  All of them wore tour T shirts Takeshi provided and flared Levis.  Takeshi, Eli and Severus wore their black leather jackets, and Vivienne wore a Navy pea jacket, Vivienne in a long red wool coat.  They portkeyed to the magical district in Dublin, then headed for the Carlton Cinema.  Eli adored the Art Deco movie palace.  She had always loved that era, the clothes, the movies, everything but the social realities of the time enthralled her.  

Takeshi was recognized as soon as they entered the Cinema.  "Kids, this is Donal Gallagher, Rory's brother and manager."

"Would you like to come backstage?  Rory was talking about you yesterday, wondering when you'd show up out of nowhere."

He led the group backstage to the dressing room.  Rory was sitting with the other musicians and some friends.  Eli stared at him.  He was even better looking in person than in his pictures.  He had gorgeous brown curls, long eyelashes, perfect, pale skin, and a slight build.  He looked at her and smiled.  She smiled back.  

"Rory, this is my younger daughter, Eli."

"I love your music," she gushed.  

"Is this your son?" Rory asked, looking at Severus.

"No, actually, that's Tobias's son, they go to school together.  This is Severus, and their friends Alice and Vivienne, all in the same class, my old school, near my grandmother's farm in Scotland."  

"Eileen's son?"  Tobias nodded.  

"I remember her, she used to dance, so beautiful," Rory said.  

Severus noticed Eli was staring at Rory with the same expression that women had watching her father play.  Alice elbowed Vivienne, whispering in her ear, "I think Eli's in love."

"He's really cute, isn't he?"  Vivienne whispered back.  

"I'm in London for the time being, got a flat over near Whitehall."  He handed Donal a card with the address and a phone number.  "I'm going to see about picking up some studio work part time.  Got a job doing mostly paperwork, some diplomatic stuff, don't ask about it."  

"How are Emerald and Jeanne-Marie?"

"Gorgeous as ever, at the Royal Ballet tonight.  You know how my girls like to dress up.  Eli is a bit more casual.  I'd better get these kids to their seats.  Can't stay after the performance, got to get them back right away.  I'll be around.  Great to see you again!"

They left and went to their seats, up front.  Takeshi sat on the aisle seat, where he was greeted by some "old timers" who remembered him.  

 

Vivienne and Alice debated if Rory was better looking than Steven Winwood.  "Your cousin Asimov looks a lot like Steve; I wonder if he's not part Faerie," Vivienne said.  

"I think Rory is way cuter," Alice said.  "He's adorable.  Maybe not as well dressed as Bryan Ferry, though."

"Wait until you hear him play," Eli said.

Rory had the audience on their feet on the first song.  Eli was completely transfixed, she never took her eyes off him.  She loved his recordings, but live was so much better.  Severus wasn't an expert on guitar playing, but he knew this man was the best, even better than Takeshi, but not by much.  Takeshi had a different style, a bit more restrained and elegant.  Rory was in the zone, sweat falling from his face, completely involved in the music.  

As they left after the concert, Takeshi told them he'd get tickets when Rory was in London, or in Scotland, if they wanted to go. Eli enthusiastically agreed.  

"We can take some of the other music students, show them how Muggles can play rock.  Let's avoid the 'arena acts,' no sense bothering with those pompous twits."

They portkeyed back to the flat, where Eli was still starry eyed.  

 

At Emerald's suggestion, the two girls remained at the flat and would take the train together back to school. Two days later they took the limo to the station, where they met Eleutheria waiting on the platform. Severus deliberately did not look for Lily. The group got on the train when it arrived and ran to the last compartment, where Eleutheria told them about her San Francisco adventures with her aunt, and the girls talked about London, the clubs they had been too and the sights they had seen.

Morrigan settled herself on Severus's lap as soon as she let herself out of her carrier, purring as he scratched behind her ears. "The cats all love you, Severus," said Vivienne. "So do the horses," added Eleutheria.

 


	8. Happy Birthday, Severus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli gives Severus a birthday party

 Severus’s birthday that year was on a Wednesday. He’d never had any sort of party at school; at most he got a card and a gift from his mother sent via owl. His grandfather sent him some books every year with a letter. Eli had no experience with this sort of celebration, since everyone in Faery was born in the same two week window around the Equinox. There was a sort of observation where people gave their mother a gift on the anniversary of their birth, at the same time of birth. The hour of the birth was considered to be as significant as the date of birth was to Terrans.

She’d asked her father and grandmother what was traditional and planned a small party for him. Horace was at first reluctant to give permission to a party off campus on a school night, but she persuaded him by asking him to be their chaperone, and promised him that there would be special treats from Avalon. The Three Broomsticks was booked, and Takeshi would be providing the music, with some Faeries and a couple of local musicians.

Eli gave invitations to Rafaela, Alice, Vivienne, Eleutheria, George, and Lily. At George’s suggestion, she also invited Regulus Black.

 

She went out of her way to corner Lily after lunch that Monday, and handed her the invitation. “Please come, you’re his oldest friend, and I know he wants you there.”

“I don’t have a present for him.” “That doesn’t matter. If that is your only objection, Great Grandmother can pick him up a book, you can give it to him. Make a card. Please.”

Lily looked down. Eli knew there was more to it than she was admitting. “um … you know my birthday is at the end of the month, and my party is going to be Gryffindor only, so I don’t think I should go to his party.”

Eli rolled her eyes. “I just don’t get this ‘house’ thing, it’s so divisive. That’s why I wanted his party to be off campus. Look, just show up, you’re his oldest friend, and he misses you. If he can’t go to your party, I’m sure he’ll understand. It doesn’t matter if he can’t go to your party, just go to his. It’s small, only a few people, those he likes and who like him.”

“All right, I’ll go.”

“Thanks. I owe you one.”

“Are you going to have a birthday party?” “No, where I come from, we are all born about the same time, and we give our mothers presents. To thank them for bearing us.”

“So you don’t believe in astrology, or birth signs, I take it.”

“Our zodiac, if you will, is similar to the lunar calendar in Asia. And so it’s the year of the birth, and the hour of the birth, that matter. I was born in the hour of the tiger, as you might have guessed. We don’t use all the same animals, we don’t have pigs, or monkeys. I must be off; the Runes Study Group is meeting. Thanks again for agreeing to come to the party. If you have any ideas about presents, send an owl to my great grandmother, Cordelia Morgan, at the Farm. And don’t worry about paying her back. The Morgans have more money than they can spend. And it’s a family tradition to share our surplus. Hoarding makes the soul sour. Do you know how to ride?”

“No, I’m afraid of horses. I know that sounds silly.”

“Not really. We all have our fears. I just need to know how many riding horses to bring along. The sleigh will be there, after the last class, at the front gate. It’s informal, don’t dress up.” Eli bowed and left.

 

Lily thought about some of the things that had been said about her, and the Fey. ‘It ain’t necessarily so,’ she thought to herself. She was glad Sev had a friend, so she was off the hook. He just didn’t fit in her new life here. Now, James Potter, he did. Sure, he had some faults, but she could change him. Just like her mother changed her father. She’d already set the hook, and knew James would do what she wanted. She’d make him earn it. After all, it was a wife’s duty to make her husband into more than he was. That’s what her mother told her. The Rules, she called her system. Lily had her eyes on the prize, the long term goal. It wouldn’t hurt to get a little jealousy going, she thought.

That Wednesday, Severus, Eli and their guests all quickly dumped their books and got changed into riding clothes, but Lily decided to wear a dress. That way, she’d be the prettiest girl at the party. She hadn’t counted on competing with Jeanne-Marie le Fey, who led the group of riding horses to the Hogwart’s gate. Now, Eli was stunning, in an Amazonian way, but Jeanne-Marie in riding clothes was the most beautiful female she’d ever seen, even more beautiful than the movie goddesses from Hollywood, like Greta Garbo wished she’d looked. She felt like a shopgirl, in her proper little dress, completely overdressed for the occasion, next to the Faerie sisters in their riding kits.

In addition to George Cameron, Regulus Black was joining them. He’d been following Severus around and hero worshiped George. Regulus was riding, but George was in the sleigh with her and Professor Slughorn, wrapped in thick blankets, woven from the cashmere of the Hillgate Farm goats.

“Are you afraid to ride, George? You, the Slytherin seeker, afraid to ride a horse?” Lily teased.

“My broom isn’t smarter than me and doesn’t try to take control,” George smiled. “My mother and sister ride, but they don’t fly brooms. We all have our fears.”

 

The horses were frisky in the cold air, and they got to Hogsmeade Village quickly. Nils took the horses back to the Farm after dropping them off.

The group went into the pub, where a long table in front of the small stage was set up, with bags of party favors in front of every plate. Severus sat in the middle, with Lily on his right side, and Eli on his left. Regulus screwed up his courage and sat on the other side of Eli, smiling shyly at her. He knew how much she disliked his brother. No one sat next to Lily, so Cordelia took that chair.

Cordelia had gotten two books for her, sent them to her to be signed and wrapped. All of the guests put their presents on the pile in front of Severus.

Emerald brought Severus a shoebox. “Open this right away,” she told him.

He opened the box, and unwrapped a piece of silk from a chalice. It was cut from one piece of rock crystal, with a wide base, which was holding an orb, that supported a tall cup, bound with gold set with emeralds and amethysts. A gold dragon, with diamond eyes, holding a pearl, was wrapped around the vessel, its tail on the base, its body around the cup.

 

“This is . .. this is . .. so wonderful . . .” “I made it myself, for you. You should drink from it today.” She poured mead in the cup, then filled the glasses in front of the guests. “Don’t worry, there isn’t much alcohol in this batch, it’s the same brew we share with the bees.”

The band, which included Asimov on the drums, played while food was brought to the table, including pizza, which most of the guests had never experienced, but quickly found out why it was so popular with Muggles. Horace was at first appalled at the idea of eating pizza, but soon became a convert to the cause.

The next present Severus opened was from Regulus, Rafaela and George. “We put our money together to get this,” George explained. The gift was a silver cauldron.

“You need one for some potions,” Horace explained.

Severus was quite pleased. He never thought he’d be able to afford a silver cauldron, especially not one this large, or so fine.

He opened a large envelope, containing a painting done by Vivienne, of him, on his favorite horse.

There was a smaller envelope enclosed. “It’s from my parents,” she explained. “They were overjoyed at my Potions grades, and I told them it was because you were helping me, so they insisted on this.” It was a credit card for Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, a gold card, unlimited credit. “Now you can get all the ingredients you want to do your own experiments.”

Horace smiled. “I should make you my teaching assistant, but I fear you might take my job!”

Eli smiled. “You say that like it was a bad thing.” Horace laughed, with only a hint of annoyance.

Jeanne-Marie presented him with a scroll painting of Torayama, which showed the seasons changing, in real time. “It’s sort of like a calendar,” she explained. “You really must come to see the cherry blossoms this year.”

Horace sighed. “I was there to see the cherry blossoms, a long time ago . .. so beautiful.”

“You should come this year,” Jeanne-Marie replied. “You could chaperone some of the students. We get a two week vacation to look at the blossoms, we don’t take a midwinter break, or a long summer break.”

Alice’s present was a set of charmed inks, in all colors, that she had made herself. Her grandfather taught her how to make various magical inks, with rare and precious material. She’d made a box to fit the cut glass ink holders, with a quill for each color.

Takeshi gave Severus a sound cube, and a large selection of Muggle, Wizard, and Faerie music capsules.  "Don't worry, the Ministry allows this, it's based on magic, not technology."

 

Cordelia got up to help remove the leftover pizzas and set out the plates for dessert, then refilled everyone’s glasses.

Asimov sat in the empty seat next to Lily. “Hi, I’m Eli’s cousin Asimov.” He smiled at her. She was taken by how handsome he was. Why on earth would Eli be interested in Severus, if all Faerie boys were so good looking?

Jeanne-Marie stood up. “As some of you know, it’s our tradition to give presents to our mothers on the anniversary of our births, to honor them. So, my sister and I have given your mother her present, she is picking out new kitchen appliances and furniture. Before you can say anything, Severus, this really isn’t all that generous; after all, as I understand Terran economic systems, in capitalism, one should keep currency circulating, to stimulate the local economy, and so, this will help many in your home community. ”

Eli handed Severus a small package. “It’s a present you can give to her, send it by owl and she can get it tonight.” He opened it, and discovered a beautiful silk scarf, in shades of green, wrapped around a necklace, a gold chain with a carved jade dragon. “It hasn’t been charmed yet, you should do that yourself.”

“Thank you. She’ll love it.”

Lily smiled at Eli. “That’s a wonderful custom, I think I’ll do the same for my mother. I miss her.” She had given him the set of books Cordelia had found, a history of potions, with an introduction written by Merlin himself. It was quite expensive, but Cordelia had told her that it was the thought that counts, and to write a card to Severus and send him a note. She tried to write something but she couldn’t. She threw away draft after draft; they all sounded so false, so duplicitous, she knew he would read between the lines and realize what a fake friend she was. It wasn’t her fault. It was just the way things were. She intuitively understood that Eli had her number, but wouldn’t say anything to Severus. She knew Eli tolerated her for his feelings for her. Why couldn’t he take a hint?

She realized why Eli downplayed her looks so much, with an older sister like that, she must feel quite homely. Her mother was an ethereal beauty, no wonder Takeshi ‘went Fey’ when they met. She was beginning to like this girl, whatever she was. She could relate to being an outsider; Lily’s family was ostracized, and she could feel the patronizing sentiments of those born to magical families, and there certainly was hostility from her older sister and fear from her parents, at her ability.

She remembered overhearing her parents arguing about her, after she’d gotten her admittance letter. ‘Well, she didn’t get any of that magical shyte from MY side of the family,” her mother said, angrily.

“What about that crazy aunt of yours, the one who never got married, and got sent away when she was 20?”

“She was just crazy, she wasn’t a witch! Your mother, THAT’S the only witch in our families!”

Sev had told her how Eli had felt so isolated with no one she could contact with her ‘mentalics’ or something like that. And the way everyone talked about her behind her back, the way most of the other students would avoid her, and how most of her own house considered her to be unworthy of friendship because she was of mixed species, that had to be painful. Her professors, other than Professor Sage in Defense, all adored her. Even the house elves went out of their way to treat her well; the Morgans were all radicals, in favor of universal suffrage for elves and other magical beings. They were Old Believers, which is why she had been a little bit disappointed to see how normal Cordelia Morgan was. She was elegantly dressed in casual clothes, her hair perfect, her manners worthy of a Royal. She’d thought Old Believers were the MacBeth sort of witches, all ragged and cackling, not this woman as graceful and charming as any she’d ever met.

 

After they’d eaten their fill of pizza, a large three tier chocolate cake was brought out, with raspberry ice cream. Lily had never tasted a chocolate cake so delicious before. Asimov told her the cake was made in Avalon, with their chocolate. Horace was particularly appreciative of the cake. He adored Faerie confections. Eli made sure he had a steady supply. When they were eating their slices, the elves took back the remaining cake and put it in a box and presented it to him.

Severus’s presents were packed in a duffle bag and brought to the sleigh. Horace thanked Cordelia for the party and went out to the sleigh, reminding them not to forget their party favor bags. Lily and George joined him. Nils threw a light silk blanket over the trio, and then put the cashmere blankets that had been keeping the horses warm over it. The others mounted their horses, and they headed out of the village back to school.

After they were out of the village and passed the entrance to the Farm, Jeanne-Marie called out, “Younger Sister, how about a point to point, first person to get to the Hogwart’s Gate?”

“Let’s GO!” Eli cried out, and the race was on. They went off the road, over a ditch, cutting along the shoreline to the entrance to the school. Eli won by a length.

The other riders kept to the road, at a hand gallop. “How can they ride like that? Isn’t it dangerous in the dark?,” Regulus yelled to Severus.

“Don’t forget they can see in the dark and have a mental link to the horses, so they can guide them,” Severus yelled back.

“You won only because you know this route,” Jeanne-Marie said.

Eli smiled. “I still won,” she said. They cooled their horses off as they waited for the sleigh to arrive.

Severus went to his room and unpacked the bag, taking out the necklace wrapped in the scarf. He put it into a padded envelope, and took some writing paper and his new pen and a bottle of dragon’s blood ink to write a note. Then he would get an owl and his mother would get his “birth gift.”

He met Eli in the Common room and he wrote a note, explaining that Eli gave him this to give to her. “How do you suggest I charm this?” he asked her.

“Let’s go up to the bridge to the owlery and charge it in the moonlight,” she replied. “The words don’t matter as long as they are from the heart.”

They headed out of the dorm and up the stairs to the top of the castle. Eleutheria and Lily were set upon by the Griffyndors and asked about the party. Eleutheria excused herself to go study, and Lily described the party, the pizza, and the cake. She opened the party favor bag, which contained a silk scarf, purple with a pattern of snowflakes in silvery white. There was a dozen of chocolate truffles, wrapped in purple cellophane, in addition to an assortment of sweets from Honeydew’s. On the bottom was a delicate chain, of Faerie metal, with a snowflake pendant. The metal, more precious than gold, shimmered, sending out prismatic light.

Lilith Vaughan dug in her purse and took out a magnifying eyepiece, which she used in her gemological studies. “May I take a look?” she asked. Lily nodded and handed it over. Lilith gave out a low whistle. “That’s amazing. They cut these like a real snowflake, in three dimensions.”

“Eli’s older sister told me that each one was different.”

“Oh, look, it’s got the date engraved!” Lily’s best friend and room mate, Aurora Consurgens sat down next to her. “ooh, chocolates.” Lily handed her one of the purple wrapped truffles, and took one for herself.

Aurora was obviously impessed.  "That's the best chocolate I've ever had."

“The birthday cake was just as good. Dark chocolate, with milk chocolate icing. . . everyone had seconds. Eli’s grandmother in Faerie made it.”

"Are you going to share?" Sirius asked, as James crowded in.

"Not with either of you, you're so mean to Sev.  If you want some, ask your brother, he was there, he's Cameron's mascot or something."

"That miserable little swot, thinks he can fly, well, maybe he is pretty good on a broom, but he's as bad as any of my wretched family."

James laughed.  "What do you think you mother will say about him hanging around with the Morgans, and a Faerie?"

Lily handed Lilith one of the truffles, and gave one to Remus. “I’m keeping the rest. Gotta get some sleep now.” She walked up the stairs with Aurora, the two girls giggling to each other.

Remus quickly unwrapped the truffle and put the whole thing into his mouth, before Sirius could ask him for it. He bit down. It was a life changing sensual experience, to taste the chocolate melting in his mouth. Like a chocolate orgasm, that was the only way he could explain the sensation.

 

Alice went straight to her room, where her roommates Ephemera Eyre and Splendora Solis were waiting for a report about the party. She shared out her chocolate and put the rest of the candy in a covered bowl on her desk. After showing them the necklace, she put it around her neck. She took out the scarf, admiring the way the silk shimmered in the soft light. “You know, I think all those Gryffies are wrong about Severus. I like him. Morrigan jumped on the bed, purring. “So does Morrigan.”

“This chocolate,” said Ephemera, “it is divine. From Avalon, you said?”

“Yes, her grandmother made them. I can’t wait to go back.”

 

Vivienne went straight to bed with her texts. She didn’t study very much; mostly she thought about Asimov, how cute he was, wasting his charm on that Evans. She didn’t share any of her chocolates; she needed it herself.

 

George and Regulus showed off the party favors, describing the food, and the music. Narcissa Black drifted by, and George smiled as he described Emerald le Fey’s beauty. “When Severus and Eli get back, we should ask Eli to bring the memory sphere she has with pictures, so they could see for themselves. He took out the small gold hoop he wore in his pierced ear, and put the snowflake pendant on it, then put the ring back in place. The snowflake glittered, picking up the lights in the room.

 

Eli and Severus went to their favorite spot to watch the sunrise, and prepared to charm the necklace. “Let’s keep this simple,” she said. “Hold it up in the moonlight, then think of what you want to say to your mother, ask for protection, whatever you wish for her. That’s your intent. Then breathe on it three times. Then draw a sigil in the air, and we’re done.” They went to the owlery, and sent the package to Spinner’s End.

When they returned to the Common room, George asked if she could show them the pictures from the party. She set up the memory sphere and set it to show the pictures as they were taken, from the ride to the village, then in the pub. When Narcissa saw the picture of Emerald, smiling, she almost wept. She’d always been the prettiest girl, but next to Emerald, she felt like a sexless lump. She realized that she’d never have a chance with Takeshi. She began to wonder about Eli. After all, Eli looked so much like her father, why not make a play for the daughter? She’d never tried to seduce a girl before, but had been seduced by more than one woman, so she knew how to do it. Certainly Lucius couldn’t object to her being with a girl, especially if she let him watch. 


	9. Cherry Blossoms at Torayama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Professor Slughorn escorts students on a weekend to view the cherry blossoms on the mountain  
> Alice notices Frank Longbottom for the first time.

  
http://www.thekimonolady.com/2013/04/kimono-seasonal-motifs-flowers-and.html  
At Sunday dinner at the Farm in early March, Horace asked Cordelia if a trip to Torayama to view the cherry blossoms would be possible. She said the best time to go was the beginning of April, and a weekend trip to the mountain would be lovely.  
“How many students will you be bringing?” she asked him.  
“No more than a dozen, I think. Including those here.”  
“I’ll have Gwydion book the rooms. From Friday through Sunday night?”  
Horace nodded.  
Eli grumbled, “I’ll have to wear kimono.”  
Severus rolled his eyes. “You really hate being pretty, don’t you?”  
Alice and Vivienne laughed.  
“If I have to wear kimono so do they,” Eli said.

The day of departure, Horace gathered the students at the front gate and waited for the Morgan coach. In addition to Eli and her friends, George and Regulus were coming along, as were the Ravenclaw prefects, Frank Longbottom and Regina Fairchild. Filling out the group was a Gryffindor senior, Callista Eris, and Edgar Hiems, a Hufflepuff.  
They rode the coach to the dock that the Morgans used, at the mouth of the stream that flowed down their hillside.

  
Cordelia greeted the group on the dock. “We have a special treat for you,” she said. My daughter in law, an admiral with the Azure Dragons, is coming to pick us up on the flagship. You got here just in time to see it come in.”

They looked out to the lake surface, where bubbles were forming about 50 feet from the dock. Before their eyes, the five masted junk slowly rose to the surface. Around each mast, an azure dragon was wrapped, and the dragons gently blew on the sails, so that the vessel glided to the dock. A sailor who had emerged from below deck tossed a rope to Eli who secured it to the dock, and a gangplank was extended.

Admiral Katsumi Morgan appeared to welcome them onboard. Cordelia led them, as Eli had told the guests, proper protocol must be observed, meaning strict adherence to the concept that age and rank determined where one was in the line. “She’s really great when she’s off duty, but you’d best watch your manners when she’s on duty. Behave. And bow when you meet her. Bow as deeply as you can.”

  
They went below decks, the rope was cast off, and they floated to the center of the lake. Eli showed them the portholes if they wanted to watch what happened. “It’s the same concept as the Durmstrang ship.”  
The ship slowly went below the water, and once the entire vessel was underwater, they noticed the color and the light of the water shifted.

  
“You can tell where you are if you know what the water looks like, what the flora and fauna of that place are. We’re in the ocean now. The light changed slowly, and she added, “We’re at the harbor now. We’ll come to the surface.”

  
The water outside the porthole showed more light as they neared the surface. They were right outside the harbor at the foot of Torayama. The door to the dock was opened, and they ran to see the sights. Torayama Harbor was noted for its natural beauty. The docks and buildings near the shore didn’t clash with the surroundings, they seemed a natural part of the environment. Frank had studied the mountain and its history, and told the other students near him that the docks have been there thousands of years, were built by the local Yokai and original magical inhabitants.

“The dragons founded this harbor,” he explained.

Alice looked at him. “Have you ever been here before?”

  
“No, but I’ve studied . .. I never thought I’d have a chance to see it, you have to be invited. Professor Slughorn knew I was interested in Torayama and he was nice enough to invite me along. You’re Alice Addington, aren’t you?”

  
“Yes, and you are?”

The tall, gawky boy blushed and looked down. “I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself . .. I’m Frank Longbottom. I’ve seen you around. I’m in my fifth year,” he stammered. “Ravenclaw.”

 

A dragon surfaced as the junk entered the harbor. The sunlight glittered on its iridescent scales, as it frolicked around the bow of the vessel. Frank pulled out a camera and started taking pictures. His plain face glowed as he looked at the dragon. “Amazing …” he said under his breath.

Admiral Morgan walked up to him. “You like dragons?” she asked, smiling at him.

  
“uhhh . . . yes, ma’am, I do . ..”

  
“Would you like to ride one?”

  
“Is that possible?”

  
“Of course, it’s one of our favorite activities here.” She turned to Eli. “Eli-chan, I trust you will set a good example for our guests, and help the girls with how to wear kimono. Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to dance. Your cousin will help you select what to wear.”

  
She left the group, as Eli groaned. “The whole weekend in kimono?”

  
“I can’t wait,” said Vivienne, “Kimono are so beautiful!”

  
Eli snorted. “But a royal pain to wear, you’ll see. By Sunday night you will be happy to change back into your school clothes. I should tell you, my cousin is a maiko, she’s a trained dancer, as well as a talented witch. She works out of the teahouse my grandmother’s family owns in Kyoto. There is a special district for magical geiko, you see. Very exclusive. She is one of the most talented dancers ever to come from the mountain, and she’s our age. She makes it look easy, it isn’t. Wearing kimono, it’s so annoying.”

Severus laughed at Eli. She glared at him. “Oh, go ahead and laugh, you get to wear clothes you can at least walk in.”

  
“That’s because you walk like a lumberjack, Eli,” he replied. “It wouldn’t kill you to at least try to act like a girl some times.”

  
“Is that a challenge?” she growled. “You’re on. I can walk like a girl and dress in a kimono and still take you in any kind of fight.”

  
He grinned. “Bring it.”

Takeshi laughed. “This should be fun. OK, boys with me, girls with Mother, let’s meet at the dojo later.”

 

They went to the Inn and to their respective rooms, the boys in the smaller room and the girls in a larger room. Eli’s cousin, Karinui-chan, the Maiko, was there. Eli had warned the girls to empty their bladders because using the facilities was a bit tricky when you were new to kimono. She gave them some liniment to rub on their knees and lower legs, to deal with the pain that would be triggered by kneeling, since they weren’t used to that position. Eli lined up the girls, shortest to tallest. She was the tallest, of course.

  
Katsumi Morgan removed a red kimono and put it on a stand.

  
“Grandmother, I don’t want to wear that, I look silly.”

  
“You’re still young enough, and it’s so pretty” she replied.

  
“But I am the tallest and I don’t want to wear red like a little girl. Put that on little Alice, she’d be adorable in it.”

 

Karinui tilted her head and looked Eli up and down.

  
“You know, Katsumi-san, Eli just doesn’t look right in the long sleeves and dangling obi. She’s too tall and looks too much the warrior. I have just the outfit. Now, pay attention, you have to see how this is done.”

  
She opened a box and unfolded a soft green (usu-midori) green underkimo, with a willow print decoration. She unfolded a purple (murisaki) kimono, with a design of the ocean on the hem, with two dragons rising from the waves. Eli stripped down to a midthigh, tightfitting silk slip, then tying on a short sleeved kimono undershirt. She put on the underkimono, and Karinui tied it in place with cords she had ready. Then she put the kimono on Eli, who stood with her arms outstretched. Next, working so fast the girls had trouble keeping up with her action, she tied the kimono in place. Admiral Morgan had unfolded a gold obi, embroidered in a pattern of cherry blossoms, which she wound around Eli’s midsection after Karinui had tied it closed. The obi was pulled tightly, as Eli braced herself. It was tied in a knot called washikusa musubi. The obi was secured with cords, and a decorative cord with a brooch of emerald and pearl in the middle. A silk scarf was tucked in the obi, as well as a fan, and her athame.

 

“All right, Alice, you’re up next.”

  
Alice stepped up, put on the undershirt, and was helped into an underkimo of pale blue and black, then put on the long sleeved red kimono, which was decorated with peonies all over it. She did not expect the weight of the ensemble; the long sleeves dragged on the floor if she let her arms go to her sides.

  
“Hold out your arms and brace yourself,” Eli instructed, as she helped unroll a very long obi which was tightly wrapped around her midsection, from her hips to over her breast. It was tied in a handara musubi.

  
“I have to wear one twice as long as this,” the maiko told Alice, when she reacted to the weight of the brocade obi. “And I have to dance in it. Practice walking around the room so you won’t fall down. Take small steps.”

 

Alice slowly started to move. She felt like she would fall over backwards. Each girl was fitted into a kimono, with long sleeves and all of them were shaky when they tried to walk.

“I see what you were talking about,” Eleutheria said, as she wobbled about, trying to find her balance. “But I look fantastic, don’t I?”

Karinui showed the girls how to take small steps, demonstrating a “pigeon toed” walk she used when she was in character.

 

The boys had already been fitted in their outfits and were at the dojo. Takeshi was helping Severus with his sword technique as they waited for the girls to show up. When they arrived, the rules of kendo were explained to them http://www.sckendo.ca/kendo-history.shtml as Severus and Eli prepared themselves. She put on a mask, but declined the body armor, using only gloves after she wrapped her sleeves around her forearm and secured them with cords.

 

Two instructors volunteered to act as referees along with Takeshi and the pair took their places in the center. Eli was concerned that she would be easily pushed off balance in the kimono, and knew, as did Severus, that she would not be able to move quickly. She would have to stay in one place and not let him rush into her. Severus was aware of her limitations and was hopeful that for once, he’d be able to beat her. Kendo was not one of her better skills, as she would admit. And Severus was quite talented. This would be an interesting contest.

  
Takeshi announced the round would be for three minutes. Eli and Severus took their positions, and when the fight began, Eli did not move. Severus would have to come to her. Moving quickly in kimono would throw her too far off balance. He was aware of that and didn’t rush in, figuring that his longer reach would give him an advantage, and so it seemed at first.

  
Eli did not allow a single hit, and after she “tagged” him three times, the fight was ended, in her favor.

  
“OK, you beat me, now let’s see if you can walk properly in that outfit, and you do look lovely,” Severus smiled at her.

 

Alice turned to Karinui, and said, “I don’t know how far I can walk, I can barely stand.”

  
Karinui smiled angelically. “Not to worry, I made sure there are rickshaws right outside, and I’m sure some of these boys would be more than happy to help out,” she said. She went to Frank, looked up at him under her lashes, and said, “Do you think you could help me and Alice? We don’t want to walk to the trees,” and took him by the arm and led him outside, with Alice following behind. The two girls got in the rickshaw, and Frank picked up the poles.

 

George and Regulus looked at each other. “Anyone else want a ride?” George picked up the poles of the next rickshaw, and Regulus followed his example.  
All of the girls except Eli got in a rickshaw. Takeshi grinned at her. “I’m portkeying to the gateway to meet your mother, why don’t you lead everyone to the bench by the shrine, and we’ll meet you there? Walk slowly so that they can take their time looking at the view.”

 

Eli turned to Severus. He had his hair tied back and waxed in place. “You look like a true Samurai, Severus. So that’s what you look like under all that hair. Not bad,” she said, with a lecherous grin. He blushed.

“How are you holding up? He asked Eli.

  
“This is so hard . .. I have to take these tiny steps, it’s like being hobbled. If I walk the way I usually do,” she said, extending her stride, “look what happens.” The kimono flapped open, revealing her legs to the thigh. “It’s exhausting, these robes weigh so much, and I’m off balance because of the shoes, and I have to maintain the correct posture . .. yeah, I know, the outfit looks great. Glad this is just for a few days. But at least I don’t look like a lumberjack,” she said, with a snarl.

Severus laughed.

 

They walked down a paved street, along a stream, to a grove of cherry trees next to a waterfall. Vivienne was taking pictures of the trip, as Eli told them the history of the area. They stopped at the tori gate near the shrine, where Emerald and Takeshi were waiting for them.

The group went through the gate and Takeshi showed them how to use the purification fountain. They put their coins into the box, bowed twice, clapped twice and bowed again, then said their prayers to the kami

“This is the original shrine, the kami is in the mountain itself,” Takeshi said. “My younger sister is the priestess, she can explain more, but she’s rather busy right now. She will be in charge of tonight’s dances, to honor the mountain.” He pointed to a plain wooden stage set up near a waterfall, with cherry trees surrounding it, just beginning to drop their petals.

  
Karinui bowed to the group, saying, “Uncle-san, you’d best take our guests back to the inn and feed them, then return for the performance. Eli, your cousins will be here, along with the other Faeries, they said they would bring chocolate for you and your honored Sensei Slughorn.”

  
Vivienne perked up when she heard that. Alice nudged Eli. They grinned at each other.

Eli refused the offer of a ride and insisted on leading the group back to the inn. Severus smiled at her. “All right, you win, you don’t walk like a lumberjack and you can still beat me even dressed all girly.”

  
“Tomorrow I’ll be in the yabusame competition, I don’t have to wear kimono but what I do have to wear is almost as restrictive. Wait until you see.”

 

The group returned to the inn, where they met up with Professor Slughorn and the students he was with. They went to the main dining room and found places at the long table along the wall.

  
Alice sat next to Vivienne and asked him about Frank Longbottom.

  
“I don’t know much about him, he’s two years ahead of us, best student in his class, but he’s so quiet and I forget what he looks like when I’m looking at him. From all accounts one of the nicest students in Hogwarts, nicer than most Hufflepuffs but smartest of the Ravensclaws. Why?”

  
“He knew who I was but I’ve never noticed him, and he was very nice to me. He knows a lot about this place, that’s why Slughorn brought him along. He seems nice.”

  
“Yes, he’s very nice, quite polite, and I hear he’s an excellent dancer, his mother made sure he was trained to be a gentleman. Mrs Longbottom is quite formidable in Wizarding society.”

 

Frank and Horace were discussing Japanese traditional dance. Frank had never seen a live performance of this art, and there is only so much you can learn out of books. He was enchanted by the mountain and its inhabitants. He’d even applied to be an exchange student with Mahoutokoro.

  
The group walked the short distance up a pathway from the inn’s hot springs to the temple. The wall facing the stage area in the garden had been moved, and cushions were handed out to the audience. The girls were having trouble with sitting and arranging their robes until Jeanne-Marie taught them a spell that would let the kimono arrange itself. She said it was acceptable to cheat and sit with their legs to the side, but together.

 

As the sun set, the performance began. The waxing cresent moon soon arose over the mountain, and tea was served. The girls were all impressed at how the dancers were able to tell a story with their hands, subtle body movements, how they made wearing kimono so easy and elegant, while they felt as clumsy and off balance. Frank was transfixed by the dancers and music; it was better than he had anticipated. At the end of the performance, Katsumi approached him and invited him to ride the dragons in the morning, when the sun rose.

 

The next day, Frank woke up before dawn, dressed and left for the docks. The rest of the boys slept in, but the girls were woken up early by Karinue, who had a new assortment of kimono for them. Eli got to wear her warrior gear, since she was enrolled on the lists for Yabusame competition.

  
“I have no idea of the horse I will ride, I’m in the visitor ranks and I just hope I can make it to the finals. I don’t practice much in this get up,” she said, gesturing to the ornate and decorated armor she’d be wearing. She picked up the armor and said, “I’ll see you down at the field,” and left.

 

Karinui had arranged for rickshaws to be at the entrance because she knew the girls would have a hard time walking to the field where the events were being held. She also knew that several Faerie boys were visiting for the games and would be willing to pull them, if their classmates didn’t feel up to it. A few of the Faeries had entered the lists for the competitions, in the Open division. Samael was entered in kendo, and two of Eli’s Army buddies were in the archery competition with her.

Takeshi brought in tea to wake up the boys. He had a stack of folded clothing with him. He was dressed as a samarai equestrian. “Now, I know that Severus and Regulus ride, who else? Frank, you’re riding with Mother to the docks, the rest of you, you’re flying the family colors, purple, for the Fey team. Even if you’re not competing, it’s about honoring the horses at ths festival, you’ll be responsible for seeing that your horse gets whatever he wants today.

  
He led the boys to the inn’s stables, and told them to pick a horse. These horses were the mountain horses, with strong, muscular bodies, and relatively short legs, necessary in the steep terrain of their homelands. They were all buckskin with a dorsal stripe.

  
“No shoes?” Regulus commented.

  
“No, their hooves are very hard, they don’t need shoes on the rocks.” Frank replied.

  
“You know a lot about the horses here,” Takeshi said.

  
Frank smiled.

 

Katsumi joined them and she left with Frank for the docks. She removed their saddles, then sent the horses back to the inn, then walked to the end of the dock and raised her arms. A dragon soon came to the surface and swam to her.

  
“Now your turn. Come to the end of the dock and raise your arm, and one will come to you.”

  
He did as he was instructed, and a dragon rose up from the water near him, and then draped itself on the dock.

  
The Katsumi demonstrated how to help saddle the dragon, using a figure eight harness, which the dragon could put on and remove itself. She gave him a rubberlike one piece suit, with a helmet and self contained breathing apparatus, allowing them to swim underwater.

 

They rode on the surface, out to the ocean, where they rode the surf around the base of the mountain, on the south flank. They dove beneath the waves and explored the sea floor, then swam through the bay entrance and surfaced, flying high over the festival, circling back to the bay, where the dragons landed on the same dock. Katsumi and Frank took off the saddles and walked back to the inn, then got changed into more formal clothing and headed out to watch the competition. Both Takeshi and Eli had made the finals for kendo and yabusame, respectively.

 

Takeshi finished third, his best ever in the annual festival. Eli placed 17th, quite respectable for her first competition.

  
“We don’t compete with Terrans once we’ve won,” she explained to the Friends, “since we have certain advantages, better hand eye co-ordination, faster reflexes.”

 

Once the horses had been fed, groomed, and put away for the night, it was time to soak in the hot springs. They’d all be nibbling all day long on the food that was available to the spectators. Alice and Vivienne were charmed by the dancing man who spun rice candy dragons and other figures. They were charmed even more by the Faerie boys, Eli’s cousins, Asimov and Metatron, who were familiar with the area.  They planned to ride up the mountain and pay a visit to the yokai, bringing them sake and foods they liked.

The girls all wanted to go get some sleep.  They were glad that they would be in riding gear tomorrow, they were exhausted by trying to adapt to kimono, just standing and walking were so awkward.  

 

 

 


	10. Candlemas/Imbolc 1974

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli invites more of her friends to Avalon, where they form their group, The Friends of the Fey, I'm going to do more about the religion of the Fey, based on the Celtic trads. Who actually got them from the Faeries before the Exile, you know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNDER CONSTRUCTION

_It is time to let go of the past and to look to the future, clearing out the old, making both outer and inner space for new beginnings. This can be done in numerous ways, from spring cleaning your home to clearing the mind and heart to allow inspiration to enter for the new cycle. ('Spring cleaning was originally a nature ritual' - Doreen Valiente). it's a good time for wish-making or making a dedication. Imbolc is traditionally the great festival and honouring of Brigid (Brighid, Bride, Brigit), so loved as a pagan Goddess that her worship was woven into the Christian church as St Bridget. She is a Goddess of healing, poetry and smithcraft. She is a Goddess of Fire, of the Sun and of the Hearth. She brings fertility to the land and its people and is closely connected to midwives and new-born babies. She is the Tr_ i _ple Goddess, but at Imbolc she is in her Maiden aspect_

_**The Serpent.**  In Celtic mythology Brigid was associated with an awakening hibernating serpent which emerged from its lair at Imbolc. Traditionally serpents were associated with creativity and inspiration - the powerful Kundalini energy of the Eastern Mysteries. Paths of earth energy were called serpent paths and at Imbolc they are stirred from their slumber._

http://www.goddessandgreenman.co.uk/imbolc_candlemas

 

After the Yule break Eli and Severus spent more time in their library room researching Faerie magic and adapting tools for his use.  Eli told him about the upcoming Imbolc festival, where she would be allowed to invite more guests.  "Everyone spends this festival close to home, a lot of people in Avalon go to the outlands for this one, it's the beginning of the spring when the creatures are birthing and the land is coming awake after winter's sleep.  It's a time of intense spring cleaning, especially for those who are to give birth at the equinox.  So, everyone takes a day to completely clean things up ,get rid of things not really needed by giving away your surplus.  You and your mother MUST see the snakes come out from hibernation, it's one of the oldest rituals still in use.  The farmers always put on a good show, they appreciate all the help the snakes give them getting rid of rodents in the fields.

"A festival of housecleaning and snake waking?"  

"There's a little more to it than that,"  Eli smiled.  "but yeah, that's pretty much what it's about."  

 

 

 

 

 


	11. Ostara/Spring Equinox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> UNDER CONSTRUCTION NO CONTENT

_A point of perfect balance on the journey through the Wheel of the Year. Night and day are of equal length and in perfect equilibrium - dark and light, masculine and feminine, inner and outer, in balance. But the year is now waxing and at this moment light defeats the dark. The natural world is coming alive, the Sun is gaining in strength and the days are becoming longer and warmer. The gentle whispered promise of Imbolc is fulfilled in the evident and abundant fertility of the Earth at Ostara...In some mythologies the goddess Eostre/Ostara is associated with serpent or dragon energy.       At this point in the year the serpent or Kundalini energy is positively exploding_ [ibid]

 

.


	12. Midsummer in Avalon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli meets Yojimbo, the Friends of the Fey have a holiday in Faerie.

http://www.goddessandgreenman.co.uk/

_Here we are, we have arrived at the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Goddess is now full and pregnant with Child, and the Sun God is at the height of His virility. This is the peak of the Solar year and the Sun is at the height of its life-giving power. The Earth is awash with fertility and fulfillment and this is a time of joy and celebration, of expansiveness and the celebration of achievements._

_Yet within_ _this climax is the whisper and promise of a return to the Dark. As the Light reaches its peak so this is also the moment when the power of the Sun begins to wane. From now on the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer and we are drawn back into the Dark to complete the Wheel of the Year._

_At this time the God, as Oak King, is rich in abundance, but he too surrenders his reign to his brother twin, the Holly King, and the descent begins. But before we welcome the return to the Dark side of the year, and acknowledge this great turning point of the Wheel, we celebrate!_

 

Eli went back to Avalon after saying goodbye to her friends at the station.

She went to her flat and put away her school clothes and took out her uniforms. She was due back at her training unit the next morning, so she laid out her dress uni, polished her boots, and got out her riding gear. She’d passed the exams for riding and was theoretically eligible to get her own horse, a year earlier than most of the recruits. She hoped this year’s crop of equine recruits had one who would like her.

The horse chose the rider, that is how it always was.

Once she got a horse, she would be responsible for training it, and they would learn how to fight together. In most battles, the horses would charge in as the Faeries shot their combat arrows, which had different effects.  Some had explosive arrowheads, useful in attacking fortified structures, some had potions inside, like a snake's fang, which would kill any living creature quickly and painlessly, some had various magical charms that could be used to create light, dark, fire, and ice.  When they closed in on the enemy, soldiers would dismount and fight alongside their horses, who wore special shoes and horned headpieces.  Horses struck like cobras, their long necks moving faster than any Terran snake could strike. 

 

The selection took place before the beginning of the two week Solstice celebration. The horses had been staying with the cavalry unit getting acquainted with the senior horses, learning the ropes, since the Equinox .

Some of the volunteers decided they’d rather have a civilian rider and would go to the horse parks in Avalon to see who needed a horse. Some horses preferred to work as teams, or in the country, and some didn’t want to bother with two leggers at all and stayed on their lands.

It would be her first time to be put in the selection pool. She hoped she’d be picked; it was always a huge blow to the ego to be left on the field. She walked to the parade ground where the recruits who’d passed the exams were waiting. The horses began to come to the area, where the recruits all were digging in their shoulder bags for treats to give to the horses. The horses expected to be given as many treats as possible and seemed to enjoy looking over the recruits.

 

It was nerve wracking; one of the reasons Eli refused to go to any dances was the entirely real possibility she’d be left a wallflower. It was one thing to avoid a silly dance, why bother when Severus was the only male she was interested in and he was not available, but she had to have a horse to progress in her military training. All of the other recruits were thinking along the same lines.

Everyone hoped they would not have to return the next year, and they would get a horse their first time out. They were milling about the parade ground when one of the instructors told them that this year’s crop of equine recruits was larger than usual. The horses didn’t like not finding a partner or having to settle for the less popular, so the extra horses improved the odds for the soldiers.

The herd came to the grounds about noon. They were led by a blood bay colt, who charged into the unit assembly with head held high. One of the officers pointed to him, “What a showboat. He’s got to be the leader of the parade, that’s a good sign.”

The horse galloped around and through the group, then pulled up in a sliding stop in front of Eli. She laughed., pulled out a chocolate truffle and handed it to the horse. “You sure do make a great entrance, ponyboy.” He took the truffle, ate it, sniffed her carefully, then wuffed at her.

Finn Maccool came up and slapped her on the back. “You’ve got a horse, congratulations. What’s his name?” “Yojimbo.”

 

Eli and Yojimbo walked to the registration table and then went to get outfitted for a saddle and accessories. Then she led him to her flat, to the back entrance via an alley. There was a room for a horse there, connected to the kitchen. Horses didn’t like the slick stone or polished wood used for flooring, so this room were made of fine gravel and pounded sand, with a deep bed of flax if he wanted to lie down.

Eli stashed the gear on the racks set on the wall, got out a grooming kit and began to untangle his mane and tail, and give him his first bath. All of her friends and family members stopped by to meet her horse and give him snacks.

Yojimbo made it very clear he loved being the center of attention. The horses who lived in the block came by to meet their new neighbor. Takeshi and Emerald brought their horses to meet the new family member.

Eli had been concerned with how any horse she got would cope with spending so much time on the other side of the mists. The horses learned from each other, spent time playing and socializing. Emerald was the one who suggested that perhaps Takeshi’s horse, Black Jack, could go with them and stay at the Farm, “since your father spends so much time there, that poor pony is getting fat and lazy,” she said. "And if he's too busy to ride, I'm sure Cordelia and Severus would."

 

Eli couldn't wait to show off her new horse to her Terran friends. Severus, Eleutheria, Vivienne, Rafaela and Alice were spending the entire fortnight of the Solstice in Avalon, accompanied by Eileen. Minerva, Albus, Silvanus, Horace and the librarian all would be there for Midsummer's Eve. The group, led by Eileen and Jeanne-Marie met Eli and Yojimbo on the plaza. After they had all met the horse, they walked to Eli's flat.

Rafaela told Eli about a run-in they'd had at the Ministry, where they met Takeshi for a ride to the Farm, with Lucius Malfoy and his "fiance" Narcissa, who wore a blood red ruby engagement ring, at the Ministry. "He was his usual self, all snarky and slimy, Narcissa simpering at his side, asked about you, and called us the 'little friends of the Fey,' in that voice he uses when he's trying to act so superior, he didn't dare say anything that could be used against him, of course, and I thought, yes, that's exactly what we are, The Friends of the Fey." Rafaela laughed.

Eleutheria giggled. "Yeah, we all just ignored him and walked right past him .. . he hates being ignored, or being laughed at, so we all started laughing. What a ponce."

 

"OK, Friends, decide where you want to help. Mostly what you'll be doing is helping out doing routine chores and cleaning for the festivals, before and after. Severus, Kellia said you might want to help in the laboratory, mixing potions and other goodies."

"Do they need help in the hospital?" Rafaela said.

"Certainly, just stop by tomorrow morning, I'll ask Older Sister to show you around.  Eleutheria, how about coming with me to the stables? They need a lot of help setting up for the Games. Vivienne, Alice, they always need more hands with the Bards and Priestesses, they do pretty much all the entertainment and event co-ordinating. My cousins will be with the Bards, they have the most fun. They'll be by later. Don't worry, no one gets worked too hard, we'll have plenty of time to explore."

 

Emerald was waiting with Black Jack at Eli's flat.  The two mothers sat in the main room while Eli and the Friends of the Fey, as they now called themselves, went to play with the horses.  Emerald took the paper from Eileen.  "Takeshi told me about this, Malfoy is trying to start trouble for him at the Ministry.  He's got those Blacks calling in favors."  

"And buying them, I'm sure, those families always had it in for the Morgans, Emerald.  They hate the fact the Morgans are richer than they are, politically radical, Muggle lovers and Old Believers." 

 

Black Jack showed a distinct preference for Severus.  "He's coming along with us to the Farm to keep Yojimbo from being lonely."    Morrigan made herself at home, settling down for a nap in the exact middle of the bed. 

 

Eli, Emerald and Eileen for the group and the horses.  Eli explained that Faerie horses were omnivorous, and ate just about anything, so in the military, they shared provisions. "Which means I need to cook a lot of food at once," she explained.  "Most of the time we'll eat at the mess hall.  When we're in the field they are really good at foraging, and we can hunt together if necessary.  We use special arrow when we hunt, they are dipped in a special potion that kills quickly and painlessly.  Same stuff we use on Terrans who are too far gone into daemonlogy to repair."  

 

After dinner, the two mothers excused themselves and went to Emerald's house.  The friends got caught up on each other's lives, Severus telling about some books he'd read, including a text dating back to Babylon, a book that was saved when the Library at Alexandria was burned.  Eleutheria talked about the concerts in San Francisco she'd gone to, and the horses at her farm on Mount Shasta.  Vivienne was taking a summer class at Beauxbatons, and had to write an essay about her time here.  Alice was working part time at her mother's law firm, and Rafaela was interning at St Mungo's.  

 

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwCMU9Zaz9w

 Around midnight, Eli got out extra blankets and pillows, offering to set up a cot in the kitchen for Severus, to give him a little more privacy. “I’ve been sleeping in the kitchen myself since I got Yojimbo, he’s never been away from the herd before and he has trouble sleeping. It’s nice having Blackjack around, so he’s not so lonely. The first night I slept on the flax pile next to him, he was having bad dreams.”

Severus moved the cot next to the door and opened up the top section, looking into the horse’s room. Yojimbo and Black Jack seemed calm enough. He lay down and tried to get to sleep. He missed Lily, but she didn’t have much time for him anymore, even during break. The opportunity to learn alchemy from Druids in Avalon was just too amazing, and took most of the sting out of her rejection. Eli and the FotF had friends in other houses, why couldn’t Lily still be his friend? He willed himself not to think of her. He took control of his dreams and made himself dream of Avalon, of swords, dragons, noble steeds and acts of valor and honor.

He woke up before the girls, got cleaned up and dressed in a lightweight linen tunic and pants with a gold and green belt and headband for the season. The horses stuck their heads in the open door, looking pointedly at the basket of bread loaves. He tore open two, drizzled honey on the bread, and put the bread and honey on platters on the shelf near the doorway that served as a dinner table for the horses. He took out another loaf, cut a thick slice and slathered it with honey. He was eating it when he heard a knock on the door.

“Come in”

Eli came in, smiled and went to prepare coffee. “We’re on our own until afternoon, I see the horses already have trained you to feed them on demand, and you’re not even an empath! I can see you have talent.” She went to the pantry, brought back a flat of eggs, sausage, onions and peppers, took down a large frying pan and heated it on the stove. She fried the sausage with peppers and onions, then scrambled the eggs. Most of the food was put in bowls for the horses. She then chopped up some apples for the horses.

After they had been fed she brought the remaining food to the large table in the main room. Severus had been cleaning up as she worked, without being asked. Eli was impressed with his domestic ability.

Vivienne asked, “What kind of animal did these sausages come from?”

“We don’t have pigs here, it’s goat. You see we only kill for meat when the animal is old and the quality of life is diminished, so they tend to be pretty tough, mostly turn the meat into sausages, or slow roast with herbs.”

“They know what you’re doing, don’t they?”

“Of course. We’re empaths, after all.”

 

When they were cleaning up Eli’s cousins Asimov and Metatron stopped in. Eli introduced them to Vivienne, and asked them to take her and Alice to help with event set up.

Eli, Severus and Eleutheria went to the horses and got them ready for the day. “Why don’t you take Black Jack, go out and explore some of the places before you go to the laboratory. He likes you.” Eli showed them how to put on the Faerie riding gear, which was designed so that the horse could easily remove it.

She strapped her weapons on the saddle which was held in place with a wide girth and chest strap.

Severus saddled Black Jack, then placed the mind gems on both of them. He rode through Avalon, from the apple groves on the edge of the city to the Main Temple in the center before turning to the College of Druids. He loved riding this horse, loved feeling his thoughts. He liked how the Fey used horses, trains, and sailing ships instead of motorized transport. They could use magical forms of transport, of course, but Eli had explained that whenever possible, most preferred to enjoy the journey. And why not? It was such a beautiful realm.

What Severus didn’t realize was that when he was here, when he was with Eli, he did not think about Lily, and that was why he felt better about himself, about life, he could appreciate his surroundings and those he was with. He also didn’t know how grateful Lily was to Eli for distracting him; Lily was trying to shake him loose, she no longer wanted his friendship but didn’t know how to get away from him. She didn’t need him anymore. Her new friends were so much more fun, and they had money! He embarrassed her, and she’d outgrown him. He just couldn’t take a hint, and kept following her around like an unwanted puppy.

The friends soon adjusted to their vacation and their work there.  They had a lot of time to go to the library, and helped Vivienne with her essay about the Fey.  Severus spent the long days in the laboratory, taking long lunches with his mother and Emerald.  

 

Albus, Minerva, Horace, Silvanus and the librarian were the only staff willing to face disapproval from certain people within the Ministry for visiting Avalon. The five waited at the gateway with Cordelia, Gwydion and Katsumi Morgan on the day of Midsummer Eve. Cordelia had the latest Daily Prophet, with an editorial questioning whether or not travel to and from Faerie should be allowed, and whether or not the Fey should be categorized as “magical creatures.”

“Malfoy just won’t give up, will he?” Minerva said, shaking her head.

“I’m afraid he can’t let go of the fact Takeshi is richer, more popular, better looking, and of course, Eli beat him down twice last year,” Albus laughed.

They didn’t have to wait long before the mists appeared and Emerald came to lead them to Avalon. They were met on the plaza by Eli and Yojimbo. While Minerva and Silvanus were admiring Yojimbo and giving him treats, Eli took their bags and strapped them to his saddle. All of the visitors were crowned with wreaths of summer flowers, and they walked to the hill where Takeshi and Emerald lived, where they would be staying. There were no inns as such in Faerie; either someone took you in or you camped out, as Emerald explained.

Silvanus walked next to Eli and asked her about Yojimbo, what he ate, what training they were undergoing. He was curious about how the Fey used their psionic ability to connect with the animals.

“It’s kind of hard to explain, but some of the animals like being able to use our minds. Imagine if you met a species whose intelligence was several orders of magnitude greater than ours, and being allowed to tap into that intelligence, so that your IQ would triple. ” Eli said. “I have to learn how to fight with him and we have to be able to communicate, and he needs to use some of my magical talent. He carries all my weapons, and he can use their power to increase his attacks, and he has to have a mind link to do many of the battle spells we use.”

The professor nodded. “I wish I had some of that power to link minds,” he said.

“We do have a device that Terrans can use to help feel the horse, it’s called a mind gem, put one on the horse and one on you. The horses say it’s not as good as being with one of us, but it’s better than not being able to link up with their rider. The Ovates keep working on improving the technology.”

Silvanus grinned. “That’s one of the reasons those anti-Faerie prats in the Ministry don’t like your kind, you use technology and magic. But I can already see it’s damned effective, you are so far beyond us Terrans. I understand your older sister can speak to all creatures?”

“Yes, she can. She’s going to learn to be a healer of all creatures.”

“I would like to meet her.”

“She’ll be over at Mother’s when we get there. You should see her horse, Secretariat, named after the Muggle horse in your realm. He’s really fast, won the race last Samhain and he’ll be running during the festival.”

 

Eli left the group at the main entrance to the College of Druids and went on to Emerald’s house to drop off the luggage.

Horace found his way to the alchemy laboratory where Severus was working with Kellia and a few Faerie students. Albus and Minerva met with the Chief Druid who took them on a tour of the campus, leaving the librarian to wander, dazed and amazed, in the vast library. When she found out it never closed, she was ecstatic, and told her coworkers not to bother inviting her to anything, she would spend her time in this place, a paradise of books and knowledge.  She quickly made the acquaintance of the staff, was informed of the cafeteria, private study rooms with comfie chairs to nap in, with 3D video walls to watch the action, plus a lovely roof garden that overlooked the main plaza in from of the Temple, she realized she could just stay there for the entire time.  

 

Albus and Minerva were impressed, even slightly chagrinned, realizing that Eli was academically slumming, since the educational standards here were clearly superior. One of the Druids picked up on that thought.

She smiled. “Albus, Eli is there to see what your school is like, as Jeanne-Marie did first for Mahoutokoro, to see if any of the students would be interested in and suitable to be educated here. We feel that education never ends and everyone is welcome to be educated in as much as they want, to the best of their abilities.”

Minerva didn’t dare say anything, but she wondered if they would allow her to take courses here during summer break. The lack of graduate level and continuing education in Britain was a sore spot with her. She agreed with the Fey that education should never end. So Eli was evaluating them? What a pity those boys in Gryffindor had so antagonized her. She had better try to get them under control if she wanted to study here. She knew how the Fey felt about bullies, and as their leader, she was responsible for their conduct.

 

They met up with Horace and Severus in the laboratory. Severus was preparing some potions that were used by the dancers for the aches, strains, and blisters that were always a part of the dance. They began on the eastern shore of Avalon, and danced around the island, along the southern side of the island, ending up on the western shore for the sunset. Then the fires would be lit and more dancing in the apple groves, around the Temple, and some dancing to the top of the spiral path.

Severus cleaned up his work area and went to get Black Jack, and led them to Emerald’s house. The men would be staying at Takeshi’s house, the women at Emerald’s. He rode to the transport plaza to wait for Takeshi, who rode the horse back to his house. “I’ll send him back to stay with Yojimbo later,” he said. “Are you enjoying your stay?” “Oh, yes, I’m learning so much! And Mother is so happy here.”

 

 He walked back to Eli’s flat, where she was cooking dinner. She’d put a leg of mutton in the oven to slow cook all day, with root vegetables and lots of herbs. He went to the ice box and got out greens and put together a salad, tossing it with oil, vinegar, and what looked like sunflower seeds and croutons. By the time they were ready to serve, Black Jack had returned, so they fed the horses. Then they put the remaining food on the table.

Rafaela returned before dinner got cold, and Alice and Vivienne showed up after they had finished. “Come along, there is a great concert after sunset over by the lake, it’s Asimov’s favorite band!” Vivienne said, “They’re playing all night!”

“No thanks,” Eli replied. “I promised Severus we’d take the horses out to the top of the Tor to watch the sunrise, and we had hard day of training, I need to get some rest. You guys enjoy, you’re on vacation and tomorrow is my only day off.”

Severus said, “I’d rather get some rest myself. I want to read this book Kellia loaned me.”

The girls got dressed up and put on flower crowns, smoking hashish, giggling. Rafaela decided to go along, “somebody better keep an eye on those three,” she said.

Eli packed a bag with some marijuana laced chocolate muffins, a thermos of strong coffee, and blankets to sit on.

 

Eli and Severus cleaned up the kitchen, got set up to make breakfast, then went to groom the horses and tidy up their room. Severus really liked Black Jack. He was different from Terran horses, and using the mind gem to connect with him was amazing. Mentalics was something he wanted to learn more about. He knew that many of the Druids were Terrans and had, after a lot of hard work, learned many of the Faerie techniques.

Eli decided to put up a hammock in the doorway between the horse’s room and the back courtyard. “It’s a hot night, and I don’t want to wake up when the girls get back,” she explained. “And I can see the moon and stars from here.” She took her bedroll off her saddle and put it on the hammock. “Now I need to take a shower, I worked hard today in training. I’m so out of shape . .. Dumbledore told me I can live on the Farm next term. So I can work out every day.” 

 

Severus climbed up on the hammock while Eli got cleaned up.  He was looking at the moon, so like the one in his realm.  He’d read the books about how it was theorized that the realms split eons ago, after the realm of the dead had been created, after the moon had entered the planet’s gravitational field.   The continents were different, very different, and the star patterns were not the same.   He could feel the moonlight on his face and body.

 

Eli clambered up and sat next to him.  She yawned, and yawned again.  “It’s the shortest night of the year, I need to get a little rest.”  She lay down on her side, curled up, head on the pillow, facing outward so she could see the moon.  Max the cat leaped up and curled up next to her.  Eli fell asleep almost immediately.  Severus didn’t want to disturb her, and carefully lay down next to her, covering them both with the blanket.  His Faerie Warrior, he thought.   Nothing bad could happen to him when she was near.

That was the first time Eli entered his dreams, quite unintentionally.  Neither of them was aware of what was happening. 

Severus woke up before first light.  He made coffee, brought out three apple pies his mother had baked, gave one each to the horses, cut two large slices and put them on a tray with coffee, and woke up Eli.  They drank coffee, ate the pies, and saddled the horses.  Eli rolled up the blanket and put away the hammock, as Severus loaded the saddlebags with bread and wrapped slices of meat, in case the horses got hungry. 

 

They set off, leaving before the girls returned from the all night concert.  They rode up the spiral path in silence.  There were others on the path, some riding, some on foot.  They got to the summit and faced east, waiting for the sun to rise.  The sky began to lighten, and the sun rose from the mists on the lake. 

Severus looked around him, he could see the entire island spread out below.   He could see the mass of dancers beginning their trek along the water’s edge.  They rode back down the path, then Eli took him for a lap around the island, letting the horses out to gallop along the northern shore, since the road there was deserted, all of the onlookers were gathering along the southern side. 

 

When they got back to Eli’s flat, the girls had gotten up and were finishing the last of the apple pie.  Alice and Vivienne got into some clean outfits, and headed back out to the stage area.  “We’ve got a reserved blanket for you, and the professors have a place on the reviewing stand for the dancers.  See you later!” 

Rafaela smiled as they left.  “I think Viv has a crush on both your cousins,” she smirked. 

“Yes, she sure hit it off with them.”  Alice smiled.  “My mother warned me about Faerie boys, they are so . . . skilled, I’ve heard . . . “ she said, and blushed. 

“So I’ve been told,”  Eli said.  “I should mention, we don’t get to go to Beltane until we are of age at 17.  I mean, we know what’s going on, but it’s been found it’s best not to get involved with that sort of thing until the mind and body are mature enough.   Sex is powerful magic, or it should be!  And if you wait for it, and work for it, it’s better.” 

Severus looked thoughtful.  It was good advice; he’d seen enough of teen pregnancies in the crowded neighborhood he lived in.  It aged the Muggles almost overnight.   He’d wait.   He wasn’t sure he wanted children, what if he were as terrible a father as his own?  His father’s father had used a belt on his children, “and it never hurt me,” he said.  “Makes you tough.”  Severus thought it just made people cruel.  He didn’t want to be like that.  He wouldn’t be like that.

 

    The horses dozed in the shade of the apple tree in the corner of the yard behind the house, while the girls napped in the sun on the roof garden. 

 Eileen, Emerald and Severus took over the kitchen to prepare food to bring along and share.  They made meat pies with the leftover roast leg of goat, and Severus made berry tarts. 

 

In the midafternoon, the group dressed in long, flowing colorful robes,  packed up the food, blankets, and cider flasks, and set out for the beach.  Vivienne, Asimov and Metatron had saved them a spot next to their blanket, and the adult went to watch the dancers  from the stands, where they met the Hogwarts staff, the librarian leaving her book heaven to watch Takeshi play.  The dancers were beginning to come into view, the line of dancers behind them increasing as people joined at the end as they passed along the embarcadero road. 

 

The band began to play ‘traditional’ Faerie music for the dancers, until the sun set.   The band took a break, the dancers all took a drink, as the fire lit on top of the Tor caused the fires to be lit in the fire pits along the shore. 

 

By midnight most of the celebrants were returning to their homes, or crashing with friends, and a number of them slept under the stars on the beach in the warm moonlight. 

 

The next morning only Eli got up early.  She and Yojimbo had a full day of training and left the flat quietly.   Her friends planned on spending the afternoon with their professors, and were sleeping in late, as were the adults.   Severus got up next, and cooked breakfast for everyone, and fed Black Jack.   They were expected at a late lunch at the College, with their professors and some of the Druids in charge of education in Avalon.   The adults, except Takeshi and Eileen, were leaving that evening. 

Eleutheria was the next one to wake up.  She sat with Severus at the kitchen table.  “You’re a good cook,” she said.  “You know I really like you, Severus.  I am amazed at how well you handle horses.  That says a lot about you, how much the horses trust you.  I’m impressed with how you can handle a Faerie horse so easily, after only a little bit of training.” 

“Are you learning how to play their games?  You were always the best of us at tentpegging, and all the rest of the games Eli taught us.”

“Mostly we’ve been working on the saber exercises.  They let me ride one of the training horses the recruits who haven’t gotten their own horses yet use.”

 

 

Rafaela was the next to awaken.  She joined them at the kitchen table.  “I’m going with you to meet the Druids,” she said.  “As an example of a graduate of our school.  But if their schools are as advanced as their medicine ... I can’t believe all they can do at the hospital.  I hope those Ministry fools get a decent treaty signed so we can use some of their methods.”

Eleutheria nodded.  “You know . .. when Muggleborns first come to Hogwarts, they are just gobsmacked at all the magic I took for granted growing up.  But when I came here, I understood how they felt.  This place, this magic, I could not have imagined all this.”

 

Severus rode Black Jack to the College and spent a few hours with Kellia in the lab.  They joined the other Druids, the Hogwarts professors, and the girls at the cafeteria for lunch.  Kellia praised Severus’s talent and skill at alchemy and potions.  Minerva was beginning to understand that this boy had unusual abilities, and was perhaps the most talented wizards in school.  How could she have overlooked him for so long? 

 

Too soon it was time to return.  The group was met by Cordelia on the other side of the mists at Hillgate, and they were driven back to the castle in the Morgan coach.  They all had a lot to think about.  Especially since, in their absence, the Ministry had begun to discuss whether or not the Fey should be allowed free passage, and if travel to and from their realm should be allowed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	14. John Barleycorn Must Die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First Harvest Festival, help with the harvest and party in the moonlight

 

 

_http://www.goddessandgreenman.co.uk/lammas_

_It is now high summer and the union of Sun and Earth, of God and Goddess, has produced the First Harvest. Lammas is the celebration of this first, Grain Harvest, a time for gathering in and giving thanks for abundance. We work with the cycle that Mabon or the Autumn Equinox is the Second Harvest of Fruit, and Samhain is the third and Final Harvest of Nuts and Berries. The word 'Lammas' is derived from 'loaf mass' and is indicative of how central and honoured is the first grain and the first loaf of the harvesting cycle._

_John Barleycorn The Sun God, Lugh, as John Barleycorn, is the living Spirit of the corn, or grain. As the corn is cut so John Barleycorn is cut down also. He surrenders his life so that others may be sustained by the grain, so that the life of the community can continue. He is both eaten as the bread and is then reborn as the seed returns to the earth. The first sheaf of corn is supremely important, produces the first (and best) seed and assurance of future harvest. Death and rebirth. Everything dies in its season. Everything is reborn. This is our whisper of immortality. And the wonderful bittersweet of Lammas._

 

Severus and Eileen were spending a fortnight celebrating the first harvest in Avalon. Neither of them had spent any time on a farm before, and were quite worn out with the harvesting.

They worked with Cordelia, Jeanne-Marie, Emerald, Eli and Takeshi on a farm near the coast, owned by cousins of Emerald’s. “We’ve been working this land for generations,” said Masaryk, the eldest male. “We use the old ways to grow our grain. No plows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_V9WI3ObyE  ”

Once Severus got used to the harvesting tools, he found the physical exertion to be stimulating. He drove himself as hard as he could, testing his physical limits, learning how to manage fatigue and control his energy. His mother loved the exercise. Working yourself to exhaustion from sunup to sundown was excellent therapy for depression, both discovered. Eileen didn’t have time to think of Tobias, and Severus didn’t notice he didn’t think of Lily at all. His dreams were of Avalon.

 

When the grain was in, they gathered together to set up for the festival, at the next full moon. They went to the groves to pick up deadfall branches for the bonfires, prepared their straw dolls, sorted the grain and stored the seeds to be used in the next planting. Takeshi worked closely with the local bards, as everyone pitched in with preparing the first harvest feast.

They set up the bonfire on the beach, above the high tide line, and the stage at the top of the beach.

Emerald, Eileen, Eli and Severus sat together on a blanket near the stage, listening to ocean.

Eli explained the next harvest would be the apples of Avalon, during the Equinox. The horses and goats took care of the windfall apples. “See how much time you can get off school,” Emerald said. “At least on weekends, and for the Equinox itself. It’s going to be at the full moon this year,” she added.

“I get the whole fortnight off this year,” Eli said. “Climbing up and down those trees is really good exercise for the upper body,” she said.

The horses carried large baskets for the apples, and the people handpicked every apple for the harvest, pressed the first of the cider for the year, storing the best in underground vaults where they would keep for months.

“I enjoyed this, a lot more than I thought I would,” Severus said. “It’s lovely here by the ocean, such a beautiful color,” he said, gazing out to see, waiting for the moon to rise, during the gloaming. He felt soothed by the sound of the ocean, he’d never seen the ocean in his realm.

When the moon rose, everyone stopped and watched. When the moon was above the horizon, shining a path across the ocean to them, the fire was lit, and the music began.

The food was brought to the tables, fresh bread right from the ovens, grilled vegetables from the gardens, stewed meats and grilled sea food, served with herbed butter.

Eli and Severus had helped pull in the nets that morning. He was getting stronger. He was getting some muscles.

His mother looked younger, happy, and more confident when she was in Avalon or at the Farm. She shrank when she returned to Spinner’s End, even though Tobias was making an effort to be nicer, and to end his attacks on his family.

He was aware he was being observed by the Fey now, that Severus and Eileen were under their protection.

He cried in the night when they were away. He had always been jealous of the link that Eileen and Takeshi had, their magic, a world from which he was excluded. He didn’t think they would cheat on him; he knew very well that Emerald was the only one in the world for Takeshi. Faerie women were worth monogamy, Takeshi said. He hoped that Severus was smart enough to snag this one, she was his ticket out of Spinner’s End.

She looked so much like Takeshi, Tobias thought. He hardly admitted to himself he had a sexual attraction to Takeshi. He knew a lot of men who had the same feelings for Takeshi, men and women found him irresistible. He was charming to all his admirers, but all knew they couldn’t compare to Emerald.

Tobias tried to find a way to stop abusing his wife and son. He knew it was wrong. He just lost control, and the alcohol made it worse. He stopped drinking at home, switching to taking hits of vaporized hashish instead, when at home. He did have relapses when he’d been out drinking, and began to cut back on his nights out with the lads. None of them had much money anyway.

Even though he knew they feared him, did not love him, Tobias did, in his fashion, love his family.

He was lost without them.


	15. Chapter 15

 Severus and Eileen went back to their life at Spinner’s End with a thud. Lily ran into him at the park, in their old spot, curious about Avalon and what he did there. She liked his pictures; she was terrified of going to the other side of the mists herself, but happy for Severus.

She liked having a break from his constant surveillance, in school and out of school. Her mother said she was outgrowing him. Her sister loathed him and told her to dump him. She always tried to please those around her, and began to deliberately distance herself from him. She knew she wasn’t being fair, but as her father said, life isn’t fair.

 

Eli returned to the Farm a week before the term began, with Yojimbo and Black Jack. Takeshi and his daughter rode the horses to see Minerva and Silvanus, and show them the Faerie horses.

Silvanus was thrilled and asked Eli to bring both horses to the cottage on the first day of classes so he could teach his classes about them.

Hagrid fell in love with the horses at first sight.

 

George Cameron looked for Severus on the train, but he wasn’t there.

Eleutheria, Alice, and Vivienne were in the last carriage, laughing about something. Alice told him that Eli and Severus were already there, at the Farm.

“Wait until you see her horse,” Eleutheria said.

“You lot went to Faerie for the Midsummer, didn’t you?” George said. “I’m envious. I bet it was beautiful there.”

“It was,” sighed Alice.

 

Takeshi and Eli picked up Eileen and Severus so he didn’t have to ride the train. They delivered his trunk the Hogwart’s and then went to the Farm the day before the term began.

Takeshi’s band was playing at Uncle Abe’s pub, in a party for the returning staff members welcoming the new Professor for Defense of the Dark Arts, Yuri Zhukov, with whom Minerva had “a history” that began in the ballrooms in Prague, where they met one night, years ago, when she was visiting school friends. He had trained with the Vanir, and danced divinely, as do most of the men from that region, Minerva noted. They agreed to keep their relationship private, of course. Discretion was the better part of valor.

 

They would meet at the Farm, in a room Cordelia reserved for them. After all, Cordelia had introduced them, telling her that he was a divine partner, but far too young, “mutton with lamb, my dear, he looks wonderful with you,” she said, that night when they met and danced the night away.

Lily was relieved when Severus wasn’t at the train station. She was getting tired of trying to avoid him all the time. Why couldn’t he take a hint?

Cordelia liked the Snapes. She hadn’t seen Tobias in a long time, since the band broke up when Takeshi had to serve in the South East Asia invasion. She knew there had been some hard feelings.

Cordelia agreed with Eileen’s father, one should never marry a Muggle. The differences were often too much to deal with.

Certainly, Severus was an exceptional child, with extraordinary magical ability and intelligence. He’d already made an impression at the College of Druids. The Crone was keeping an eye on him. He would not be alone anymore.

Eileen and Emerald drove back to London with Takeshi on the first day of classes.

Severus and Eli rode to Hogwarts on the two Faerie horses. Eli had gotten permission to wear a divided, calf length skirt to classes with her riding boots. She and Severus rode the horses to the gamekeeper’s cottage as the sun rose.

They took their saddlebags with them to breakfast, arriving early, going over the day’s potions lesson. Eli was excused from her classes to handle the horses for the Magical Creatures classes. The professor borrowed Eli’s copy of the standard text regarding care and feeding of horses, required reading for all cavalry recruits. He put the book on a stand near the fence where Eli had put their tack.

 

The first class, for first year students, went well. They asked intelligent questions and both horses liked the attention and food they got.

All of the classes went well, except, of course, for her level.

The Marauders completely messed up class, and got detention.

 

Severus got there first, coming there immediately after lunch, with food for Eli and the horses.

One of the house elves carried a huge platter for the horses, with a selection of everything they were serving that day, to see what these Faerie horses liked to eat.

Yojimbo and Black Jack appreciated the thoughtfulness of the elves.

Eli, Severus, Silvanus and Hagrid all sat together on the grass on that warm afternoon, as students began to come to the area.

The Friends of the Fey came first, of course, bearing desserts for the horses.

Slowly, the students started to arrive, most clustering around the book and paging through the diagrams. The professor announced the book would be available during normal hours for anyone to read, at the library in the reserved book section.

Some of the students approached the group with the horses, who had remained calm and friendly with the students. Most of the students kept a respectful distance, after seeing the pictures of their teeth. The professor gathered the class together, near where the horses were standing, in a circle formed by Eli, Hagrid, and the Friends.

Black Jack and Yojimbo both sniffed the air, and snorted. Yojimbo pawed the ground and laid back his ears. Eli noticed they were both staring at the Marauders.

She took Silvanus aside and told him that the horses might not like some of the people in the class.

As they were talking, even though Remus and Lily tried to hold them back, Sirius and James got too close, and both horses reacted immediately, standing between the Marauders and Eli’s group. The horses bared their teeth, and got into fighting stances, shaking their heads and lashing out with their front hooves.

“Back off NOW!” Eli snarled at the Marauders. “The horses don’t like you, can’t you see?”

 

Silvanus and Hagrid both stood in front of the boys, forcing them backwards.

“What is the first thing you do when you meet a magical creature you’ve never met before?” The professor asked them.

“Never rush in, let the creature approach you. Just because they like some people that does not mean they will like you.”

 

Sirius said, “Gimme a break, Professor, she sicced ‘em on us,”

“No, she didn’t, she had her back turned to you the entire time, I saw the horses point you out, she didn’t know you were there. THEY JUST DON’T LIKE YOU. I can see why.”

Eli noticed that both horses were staring at Remus and snorting, as if they smelled something they didn’t like. She caught his eye, and he hung his head down, mouthing “I’m sorry,” at her. There is was again. What was that smell? The horses had no name for him, they just reacted to him, as an enemy. What was it about the boy? He did have a smell, which got more intense as the moon waxed.

She knew the Terrans had disorders not found in Faerie. Lycanthropy? It couldn’t be; she was aware the disease was still occurring on Terra; she’d been vaccinated before being allowed to come here. But would a werewolf be allowed to stay at Hogwarts?

 

Eli began the class by explaining the horse’s nonverbal communications style in expressing aggression. Both horses kept an eye on Remus, and he knew that, so he hid as far back in the crowd as he could. He knew that the horses recognized him as an ancient enemy. He wondered how much Eli could figure out about him; was it true she could read minds? He’d have to tell Professor Dumbledore.

Sirius was pissed off at Eli and her horses. He took it personally, how the horses didn’t like Remus, or him. Even those dumb beasts thought they were too good for the Marauders? Stupid nags. He stood halfway behind a tree, hiding his wand hand. He had slowly gotten out his wand, and aimed a Cracker Jinx at the black horse’s face.

He didn’t know that Minerva had been watching him. Before the first explosion, she had grabbed him by the collar and was dragging him back to the castle.

“Don’t say a word, Black,” she growled.

 

Black Jack jumped backwards when the small blasts began. The students who had gathered near the horses leaped between the explosions and the horses, and the horses were visibly annoyed, but not frightened. Eli was enraged.

James Potter and Peter Pettigrew laughed loudly. Lily was horrified. Remus wanted to cry.

Silvanus pointed at the Marauders. “You three can share your friend’s detention,’ he said, and told the class their homework was to write an essay about what they learned today, and dismissed the class.

“Snape, stick around for a minute,” Silvanus said. “I don’t know what it is about Lupin; he sets off some animals. Some people do. But that Black … incorrigible. No excuse for what he did. Although it did give a class a good look at what a pissed off Faerie horse looks like. Any rate, you two go to Horace’s lab so Eli can get the day’s potion done, then come back for the last class, it’s the senior students, shouldn’t be any troublemakers. Hagrid and I will look after the horses.”

 

They went to the Potions lab and got the day’s potion done quickly. Horace congratulated them, and mentioned that the little trick pulled by Black on the horses had cost Gryffindor a lot of points, and that he’d asked Albus and Minerva to control those boys better.

“I’m disgusted, trying to frighten the horses, he’s lucky the horses didn’t come after him.” He looked at them and shook his head. “ “I wish I knew what it was about you that got him so … fired up. They’ve been bullying Severus from the first year, but now, they are getting dangerous. I’ve spoken to Minerva but she insists they are all really wonderful, high spirited boys.”

Eli rolled her eyes.

“Black’s out of the Slug Club, so would you consider attending this year’s Welcome Back party? It’s this Saturday night, I know you’re taking most of the Equinox fortnight off.”

“You moved the party for me?”

“Yes, many of my students have asked if there was any way for you to return, they want to get to know you better. Besides, those boys are all on detention for the month, so they can’t attend.  I'm inviting your friends, please come."


	16. Chapter 16

 As soon as they were alone, before Eli could start complaining, Severus said, “Not a word out of you. You will go to this party. It’s not easy for me, either, being around people who hate me, so you’re just going to have to suck it up and soldier on. Just this once, be nice.”

“But Severus …”

“Shut up. Do this for me. Let me get some credit from Slughorn for delivering you to his party.”

“All right, all right, I surrender. But what should I wear?”

“Let’s go raid Cordelia’s wardrobe.” Cordelia joined them and helped Severus pick out the right outfit and accessories. They chose a mauve Peau de Soie evening suit, with a single buttoned swallow tail jacket, floor length trumpet skirt, with a purple beaded tank top with matching purple beaded evening bag and shoes. “I feel overdressed,” she said, as they were waiting for the carriage to take them to the party.

“You’re not, by Horace’s standard,” Cordelia said. “I’ve known him for a long time. Severus, you look wonderful.”

“He does, doesn’t he?” said Eli. Severus blushed.

 

Takeshi drove them to Hogwarts in a brougham pulled by two matched golden buckskin Akhal Teke horses. He dropped them off at the front entrance, telling Eli he’d be back at 11:00 to pick her up. “You have to stay for the duration, Eli.” She groaned.

“It’s not that bad, Eli, stop complaining. You think I like this kind of thing?” Severus said. “I don’t. Those people hate me too. They hate you because you’re different, they hate you because your family is rich and don’t play along with the rules they set up for themselves, they hate me because I’m poor and my dad’s a Muggle. They always pick on the ones who aren’t just like they think they are.”

 

Lily wanted to go to the dinner. She hadn’t been put on detention and she wasn’t barred, but James and Sirius put a lot of pressure on her to stay away from the party out of loyalty to the Marauders and all of Gryffindor. They had tried to get all the other invited Gryffies to boycott the party, but no one went along with them.

Remus disagreed. His sense of fair play allowed him to accept being punished along with Sirius, who was the perpetrator, and James and Peter, who laughed loudly when the horses were startled. He’d been horrified; this was worse than when they attacked Severus on the train. He thought she should go, use this chance to talk to Eli. “It was kind of my fault the whole thing got started,” Remus confided in Lily when they were alone in the commons room. “A lot of animals don’t like me, they can smell what’s wrong with me. I wanted to get a closer look and I was upwind of them. Sirius took it personally when the horses reacted and Eli yelled at us to get back.”

“You think they know what you are?” Lily asked.

“I think so, and they have a link with her so they alerted her. And, they say she can read minds, so I wonder how much she knows.”

“I don’t think she’d tell on you, she doesn’t like the way magical creatures or Muggles are treated and it’s not your fault.”

“That’s what Dumbledore says, he asked me about what happened. I think you should go to the party. Don’t let James tell you to stay away.”

“I’d like to … but James is really angry about the whole thing. He doesn’t think it’s fair he got detention, just for laughing, even though it wasn’t funny at all. How did he know the horses wouldn’t have attacked someone? Sometimes, James doesn’t think about how what he does and says affects other people.”

“She seems like she’s a great person, if you can get to know her. Jones thinks so.”

“Severus says the Morgans are helping out his parents. I never knew Mr Snape had been a musician!”

“You know his family?”

“Not well; they keep to themselves, now I know it’s because his mother as a witch. She seems nice . .. but his father . . . he drinks, you know. My parents told me to stay away from the Snapes and my sister hates Severus because he backed me up, he told me about what I was.”

“He was your first wizard friend, then?”

“Yes. I know how it sounds, like I’m ungrateful for his help, he was there when no one else was … but . . . I don’t know why everyone hates him so much, he’s ugly and can’t dress and is just plain mean sometimes . .. but he is brave, and he is so intelligent.”

“He’s only mean when someone is mean to him, from what I’ve seen,” Remus said. He sighed. “I’m ugly and my clothes aren’t very stylish either,” he said, looking at his feet. “At least he’s not a filthy werewolf. If you can be my friend, why can’t you still be friends with him?”

Lily smiled and him and squeezed his hand. “So you could be friends with her, isn’t that it?”

Remus flushed and laughed nervously. “I wish James and Sirius would lay off those two, it’s not funny and someone’s going to get hurt.”

“I agree.”

“Go to the party, Lily. Don’t let James tell you who you can talk to and where you can go.”

 

James, Sirius and Pettigrew came into the Commons Room. “There you are, Moony, let’s go to our forced labor,” James said.

The boys had been assigned to clean out the pens and the old horse barn that was used to hold various magical creatures. It was hard, smelly work. Remus didn’t mind the work as much as he minded listening to the whinging of the other boys, and how they slacked off whenever possible and let him do the majority of the actual labor.

Lily thought about going to the party, but decided to keep the peace with James and Sirius. It was easier to go along to get along, she knew how Sirius got when anyone went against his wishes, and she was already planning her wedding to James and did whatever she thought would please him. She understood Severus’s obsession with her, because that’s how she felt about James. At least James desired her, too (conveniently ignoring the fact that until she got to Hogwarts, she was glad to have his friendship).

Severus just didn’t get it. But why did she feel so guilty when she looked at him, when he gave her that sad look when she turned away from him? It wasn’t her fault he was ugly, poor, and had bad social skills, that’s just the way life was. She’d made new friends, he’d best do the same.

She spent the day in the library and was about to go back to find James and get some dinner when she spotted the brougham on the road to Hogwarts. She went to a window the overlooked the entrance courtyard in time to see the carriage arrive, and watched Eli and Severus alight and go inside. Why couldn’t he feel about Eli the way he felt about her, Lily thought. They looked good together, like they belonged with each other, he always looked happier when she was near him.

 

She went down to the Great Hall to get her dinner, where the Marauders were already seated.

 

Dinner was at eight. Eli had to run the gantlet of polite conversation for an hour and a half before she was seated at the table next to Horace with Severus at her side, with her friends all near her at the table. Eli gave the man credit; he had the gift of gab and kept several conversations going at the same time. His manners and deportment were perfect, if somewhat prissy. Eli saw the merit in having such “training sessions” for students who might not have the best skills in etiquette, since it was such an indispensible part of being a part of the elite. Good table manners and an ability to hold one’s own in dinner table talk often made the difference in a wizard’s career. But she didn’t need or want any of that. She could do it, but resented having to do so. Severus had an inborn sense of decorum and his manners were elegant, he was far better behaved than any of the “purebloods” who thought themselves the peers of the realm.

She knew she had to be on her best behavior to help him look better. She would do anything to help her Prince. She laid on the charm with a trowel. Horace was pleased. He knew how to control her.

Just use Severus.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regulus Black tries to help Rhiannon Simmonds, the Muggleborn Slytherin, but can't let his mother find out.

As they always did, Eli and Severus went to breakfast very early, before most of the students, to work on their Potions for the day. Eli now was commuting from the Farm and had gotten permission to use the Floo network, and was trying to get approval to ride to classes and leave Yojimbo with Hagrid in the barn near the cottage. On the Wednesday of the first week, as Eli and Severus were going over their Potions lesson, Regulus Black approached them and sat next to Severus.

  
He looked nervously around him, glanced at Severus, then at the floor. “You heard about Rhiannon Simmonds, the first year?”

  
“You mean the first known Muggleborn Slytherin?” Severus asked.

  
“Of course, Regulus, you got a problem with her?” Eli said, raising an eyebrow.

  
Regulus blanched. “Oh, no, no, it’s just that . … they’re all really mean to her, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

  
Eli tilted her head, and looked at him with a half smile. “You’re not much like your bro, are you? And it bothers you, but you’re afraid to speak up, right? Can’t say that I blame you. It’s hard to be the odd man out. Poor girl. You know I don’t live in the dorm so I can’t be of much help there. Why don’t you ask her to meet me at breakfast? You know I eat very early.”

  
Regulus nodded. “I’ll let her know.”

 

Severus shook his head after the boy left. “What are you up to now?”

  
“I dunno, I’ll think of something. What have you heard?”

  
“You know I don’t pay much attention to the gossip in the common room. They picked on me my first year, and they tried to pick on you, until you smacked down enough Gryffies. Maybe you should teach her how to reflect hexes. Or give her a charm to do it.”

  
“Not a bad idea. I wish you’d use one. But that won’t stop the harassment. That hat, what a stupid way to sort students, and I still have no idea why anyone ever thought it was a good idea to divide up the school. Even the Muggles understand the basic concept of the harms done when you arbitrarily divide up people into groups. That doesn’t stop them, of course. Us versus Them, it’s the source of all conflicts.”

  
“So you don’t approve of The Hat?”

  
“I always thought it was ridiculous. You know I told that damned thing where to put me. It’s just a very crude device to try and analyze what a child is, as if there were any merit in segregating students according to some sort of personality traits.”

  
“YOU told the hat?”

  
Eli laughed. “Of course. It tried to put me in Gryffindor. I overrode its programming and refused. That’s why it stalled. I’d been monitoring what it was doing when it sorted the first years before I went up there. Didn’t you ever wonder how each house ends up with the same number of students? Come on now, what are the odds that you’d get an exact balance of the different sorts of students every year? We are all a mixed bag of traits, and of course, we change as we get older, learning and experience can alter a person a great deal. It’s what’s called Nature versus Nurture in some of the literature. You’ve got cowardly Gryffindors, like that Pettigrew git, dumb Ravensclaws, mean Hufflepuffs, and now, a Muggleborn Slytherin. Mostly the thing just skims your frontal lobes and tries to place you were you think you belong, and face it, a lot of folks suffer from delusions of adequacy, and then there is the Normal Self-Serving Bias.”

 

Severus at first wanted to disagree with her, but realized there was truth in what she said. He wanted to believe that the hat was correct, and that’s why it was, because most people prefer to believe what they wanted to believe, no matter what the evidence. He’d always been more empirical than faith based. He couldn’t go along with the “purebred supremacy” rhetoric, since he’d seen too many Muggleborn and half bloods who were excellent wizards, too many purebreds who couldn’t hex their way out of a paper bag, and of course, a purebred Squib destroyed any pretense of inborn ability due to breeding. He knew he was one of the best, if not the best, in his class. He kept such heresy to himself unless he was talking to Eli, of course.

  
“I know,” Severus said to Eli. “Tell her that she needs to start having breakfast with us, because she wants help with her Potions, and I assign you to coach her, since going over first year Potions is a good way for you to review the basics. George wants in on the morning Potions class, and he was talking to me about that poor girl and how she’s already being attacked.” He smiled. “Even worse than the way they ganged up on you last year, and you’re older and knew what you were getting into. If he takes her under his wing, most of the bullies will back off.”

  
“That’s a good plan,” Eli nodded in agreement. “George is quite the Muggle-lover, isn’t he? Doesn’t his mother get upset by that?”

  
Severus grinned. “Not since he was made Slytherin seeker, now he can do no wrong in her eyes. He’s even taking Muggle studies.”

  
“Is that why he’s interested in her?”

  
“Maybe a little bit, he asked me a lot about Muggle life. It’s amazing how much the text gets wrong, it’s quite outdated. He’d like to come along to a rock concert, so long as it doesn’t interfere with Quiddich practice.”

  
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to add to the posse.”

 

They reviewed the text and Eli asked about the best way to make sure that the solid ingredients were properly ground. Severus didn’t answer right away.  
He cleared his throat. “Did you … did you tell the Hat to put you in Slytherin because of me?”

  
Eli put down her quill and glanced at him.

  
“What do you think?”

  
“Uh . ..”

  
“Of course it was all about you, Severus. I wanted to make sure we could continue being friends, and it’s a lot easier if we’re in the same house. I mean, if I hadn’t been a Slytherin, I’d be eating alone, I’d be on my own all the time. Even the Hufflepuffs are hinky of me. Other than Alice, of course. And I figured you needed someone to watch your back. I mean, look at this place. You have to eat with your house, you’re not supposed to even visit other Commons, it’s all but impossible to stay close to someone in another house. If we didn’t have the Farm to go to on the weekends, it would be pretty hard to be friends with the Friends.”

Severus looked over to the Gryffindor table. Lily was sitting in a group of her new friends, laughing. She hardly spoke to him anymore; just the occasional greeting as they passed in the halls. She never went to their old places, the park, the churchyard, and he knew better than to go to her home, where he was refused entrance. He knew he was persona non grata, and stopped trying to make contact with her outside of school. Every now and then they would talk, and it would be almost like it was in the past, but he could feel the distance between them, and he was helpless to stop it. She seemed to like Eli, but didn’t want to visit the Farm, even though Eli had said she would be welcome there.

 

He’d noticed how Eli avoided all Gryffindors, except Eleutheria. She used her camouflaging skills to mask herself from their sight in the halls, she never went to Quidditch matches or any social functions. The only exception was music class, where Professor Flitwick was quick to kick out anyone who so much as looked at her wrong. He admired her talent, and understood only too well what it was like to be ostracized for being different.

 

Even though Eli would not socialize with anyone other than himself and the other Friends, she never refused a request from a student who wanted her help on schoolwork. The Runes professor had commented that those students in her study group all improved considerably, and Severus was the best in his class, thanks to their time in their library room, where she used her own Druidic texts to help him study. He’d mastered Rune magic and was learning sigils, as well as learning how to speak the language so he could perform more Fey magic and begin the study of mentalics.

 

Severus enjoyed learning how to fight and use weapons. He loved kendo and Takeshi was helping him since Eli was focused on learning broadsword technique. All of the Friends were learning horseback competition in various games, including tentpegging, wand jousting, and the saber exercises. They spent the weekends at the Farm, returning only to sleep. Eleutheria reported that some of the Gryffindors were grumbling about her “special privileges” but Minerva wasn’t having it. She understood how Eli needed her friends, and was aware that Eleutheria had never “fit in,” being called a hippie dippie American who should have stayed home, even though her parents had come from England and were both Gryffindors.

 

The next morning Eli got up before dawn. She took the floo to the Hogwarts and went to the Slytherin commons room, which was empty at the time. She took out her homework and was reviewing her Potions text when Rhiannon Simmonds entered. Eli smiled at the girl.

  
“Come with me,” Eli said. “Let’s take a walk.”

  
Eli noticed that the girl’s eyes were red and swollen. When they got into the hallway, Eli said, “It must be pure hell for you. I can’t imagine; you didn’t even know magic existed until you got that letter, right?”

  
The girl nodded.

  
“And your family is, well, stunned? And then you came here, and now they are all picking on you. Don’t have to be a mind reader to figure that out . . . they picked on me a lot last year, I was the new kid, I’m the first Faerie, and my father’s family wasn’t held in very high regard by some of the people in Slytherin, even though he was one himself. But I get to live off campus, makes it easier. And I knew what I was getting into.”

 

“Maybe I should drop out. That’s what my roommates say. That I don’t belong here. They called me a mudblood.”

  
Eli laughed. “They call me worse than that. Maybe I can help.” She reached into her bookbag and took out a Faerie metal chain with a small leather bag on it. “I made this for you last night. It’s waterproof and sewn shut, don’t take it off while you’re here. It’s a special charm. It will help repel the hateful comments – don’t ask me to explain because you wouldn’t understand, and it’s kind of illegal for me to give it to you. What it will do is cause anyone who is mean to you to feel the way they want you to feel. It directs their negative energy back on them, with interest.”

 

“Do you know why I was put in this house? Everyone says it’s for purebloods only.”

  
“I think that hat is full of shit. And I don’t like the idea of competing houses anyway. My best friend, Severus Snape, is what they call a ‘half blood’ and he’s one of the best students in the entire school. Purebred supremacy is a crock.”

  
“Regulus Black says the same thing . ..”

  
“That poor wretch. His family is an example of how full of shit purebred supremacy is. You know he can’t be seen with you . ..his mother is really nasty and he’d be in a lot of trouble with her if she finds out he’s trying to help you. His older brother is in my class, you know, he ‘disgraced’ the family by being put in Gryffindor, and he’s completely crazy, out of control and arrogant as they get. Goes out of his way to pick on me and Severus.”

  
“Poor Regulus, it must be tough coming from a family like that, all of the advantages and no love.”

  
“That’s insightful of you.”

  
“Your father, he’s a guitar player, right?”

  
Eli nodded.

  
“You follow the blues, right?”

  
Eli grinned. “Obviously.”

  
“Did you ever hear of Kim Simmonds?”

  
Eli grinned even wider. “Savoy Brown? You betcha! Don’t tell me you’re related?”

  
Rhiannon smiled and nodded. “My mother’s first cousin. She’s kind of the black sheep, she isn’t married and never told anyone who my father is.”

 

Eli laughed. “It’s funny you’d say that, you see, one of the main reasons those Slytherins don’t like my family is because Faeries don’t marry and the Morgan women don’t either so we’re considered quite scandalous. We have a lot in common.”

 

  
Eli led Rhiannon to the Great Hall. The elves had her food ready at her usual spot. “You sit across from me, on the inside. Severus sits next to  me, you know.”

  
“Yes, I saw that. I noticed no one sits next to you.”

“OK, Severus wants me to improve my grasp of the basics of Potions, you know I transferred in the third year, so I never learned this. He says by helping you I’ll improve my understanding. He helps me with my schoolwork, at breakfast and dinner. You’re invited to join us whenever you’d like.”

  
  
The girl looked up at Eli with wide eyes. She was very fair, with cornflower blue eyes, her hair was coppery blond, braided in a coronet on the top of her head. How things had changed in the short time she’d been here. Her mother brought her to the station, where they parted company. At first is was exciting, she met several students, and they told her about Hogwarts. She found out she was what was called “Muggleborn,” since her parents were not magical. There was something about that word she didn’t like. It sounded derogatory, pejorative, and the way some pronounced it, sounded like a slur. But there were others like her, so she wasn’t too troubled. She’d always been brave, unafraid of new experiences and meeting new people.

  
“Do you do your own hair?” Eli asked.

  
“Yes, all my life, Mother showed me how and I started doing my own hair when I was seven; she said I was ‘neat handed’ like she was when she was little. She does needlework, like this,” the girl said as she dug out a small velvet purse, embroidered in gold and silver, in an intricate pattern that Eli recognized as sigils. Very powerful sigils, at that.  
“This is a fascinating pattern,” Eli said.

  
“Mother said the design came in a dream, she sketched it . . . she said to always keep a notebook and pen near your bed so you can write things down before they fade.”

  
“Yes, that’s a good thing to do, so you don’t lose any messages you may receive.”

 

They sat at the breakfast table, where the elves had placed tea, coffee, food, dishes, and cutlery. They got out their books and notepaper. “Read me the lesson and then let’s review the properties of the ingredients, as well as the transformative processes of heat and any spells."

Severus walked in, took his seat on Eli’s right side, and brought out the text for the class. He wrote notes on the page of the spells, his mother’s text she had carefully saved, along with her notes for the class. Eileen had spent the summer going over the classwork she’d done on the classes, noting that the syllabus hadn’t changed in generations. So sometimes you needed to update the text, based on new information. They used the reference material that her father sent them, as well as the academic papers he’d written or liked. Potions had been her favorite class at Hogwart’s. She always sat next to Takeshi in Potions. They talked about music and its magical properties; she’d learned how to play piano, at her mother’s insistence, since all dancers needed to understand music, to communicate with the musicians.

 

She was sure that the only reason she excelled in Potions was because of him. His presence had an exhilarating effect on people, due he said, to his dragon mother. His animus, a dragon, had manifested before he entered Hogwarts. He could conjure his patronus, a fox, without a wand. He helped her find her patronus, a horse. He taught her and some other friends how to ride horses, and spent Sundays at the farm with some of the staff and students. His grandmother, Cordelia, knew everyone. When he started his first local band out of Hogsmeade, she was part of the group who showed up at every performance. He wore all black, he said, because he wanted people to look at his hands and the guitar. And he hated to have to match clothes and it made it simpler.

 

Severus questioned Eli and Rhiannon about the lesson. As he was doing this, a disheveled and sleepy looking George Cameron came to the table and sat next to Rhiannon. She immediately filled a mug with coffee with dark sugar and a dash of whipped cream, putting it down in front of him before he could ask.

  
She smiled. “You look like you need this, like my mother when she was up too late and had to get up early.”

  
“Thank you,” George said.

 

The group was being observed by others who had come to the hall, including Regulus Black, Remus and Lily. Lily had been astounded when the Hat sorted Rhiannon into Slytherin, since she was Muggle born. She’d heard gossip from the first year Gryffindors about how the other Slytherins were already bullying her.

Regulus was under the influence of his first crush, with this beautiful little Muggle born, with her rose gold crown of hair, her enormous blue eyes. He knew what his mother would say. She would stare down her aristocratic nose, saying, “Not our kind, dear.” He wished he could defy her, deny her purebred mania, but he’d have to be of age before he dared. She’d kick him out with nothing, as she had his older brother. They all had trust funds, from legacies from older generations, but until that time, he had to somehow keep her happy with him. She had a very deep sadistic streak, he’d witnessed enough of her genteel savagery up close. How to keep her from finding out . .. there must be some sort of selective blocking spells he could to, in order to keep the known snitches from informing on him. He could be civil to Rhiannon, try to make sure no one picked on her too much; he knew how to defuse situations, he’d had plenty of experience dealing with bullies in his own family.

George yawned as he got out his book and notes. He smiled at Rhiannon. “Have you flown yet?”

  
“Yes, it’s fun! I love to fly!” She laughed. Her face lit up with pure joy. He knew that look. The best flyers had it.

 

The staff began to come into the hall and to the High Table. Professor Slughorn came to the table and smiled at Eli and Rhiannon.

  
“Good morning, Professor,” said Eli. “Severus wants to make sure I’ve got the basics of Potions down so he’s having me coach Simmonds. You know some of the more elitist Slytherins, you know, almost all of them, are being rather rude and patronizing to my friend here.”

  
George nodded. “It’s a bit much, really. I mean, she has to be good or the hat never would have put her here, right? If we question the judgment of the hat, well, that’s attacking one of the traditions here.”

  
Eli and Rhiannon looked at each other and giggled.

  
Severus smiled. “Yes, and so, anyone who questions the Hat is a heretic, and should be instructed in the errors of their ways, correct, Professor?”

  
“I should think so. If the Hat makes mistakes, then where would we be?”

  
Eli smiled. “You might have to dump the entire system of sorting, maybe even get rid of the houses.”

 

Madame Hooch wandered by, her hair even messier than usual, eyes half opened. She conjured a mug and helped herself to some coffee. “George, this little girl has talent, she outflew everyone in her class the first day. Keep an eye on her,” she said with a wink.

  
George grinned at her. “I heard about your first flight, we’ve always got people looking to scout for the Quidditch team. Why don’t you come to practice after classes today? Just to watch.”

  
“Sure,” the girl said.

  
“Close your book and put it away, Simmonds, I’m going to question you on the lesson and anything you don’t know I’ll ask Eli,” Severus said. He quizzed them as he put food on plates and handed them to the two girls.

 

After eating, Rhiannon said she had to get to Potions class and left. She was watched by the other Slytherins at the other end of the table. That day after class, three people, Margot Lancaster, Anne Plantagenet, and Moira Stuart, asked her to eat with them at lunch. All of them were on the Slytherin Quidditch team, and no one in the house wanted to get on their bad side, either on the pitch or off. They were impressed with Rhiannon’s flying skill, her blood status simply didn’t matter to them.


	18. Chapter 18

Eli was given permission to spend all of the two week festival, which in Avalon was mostly about apple harvesting. Everyone helped, even small children had their jobs to do.

Severus, Alice, Vivienne and Eleutheria would be spending the weekends harvesting , and Eileen made plans to spend the fortnight there as well. Tobias didn’t like this. Emerald had anticipated his reaction and brought Takeshi along to explain to him how this was her way of helping out the Fey, since they were helping the Snapes out so much. While Eileen was in the bedroom getting her things together, Emerald faced off with Tobias. “You like the applejack we make, and if we could bring you along and make you pick apples we would,” Emerald said. “Takeshi said you can come to London and stay in the flat, he’s only going to be in Faerie on the weekends. Take a break from Spinner’s End.”

Tobias grimaced. “I wish I could leave this place forever.” Emerald looked at him with that look she had, like she knew exactly what was going on inside his head, the look that so intimidated Tobias. “She’s my wife, she’s supposed to take care of me, not running off to play with Faeries.”

“Maybe if you didn’t beat on her and your son she wouldn’t need a place to get away from you.”

“That’s family business, it’s not a crime.”

“Bullshit, Tobias,” Emerald said with a lethal smile, “It’s a crime. Absolutely insane to think that the same behavior that would get you a long sentence in prison if you did it to someone outside of your family is acceptable within your family, it’s crazymaking, the laws in your land. Why not just leave her? If she’s that messed up you have to beat on her, just leave. She’d be better off without you.”

 

Tobias could not meet her eyes. She could tell what he was thinking. Faeries could read minds, couldn’t they? “I know,” he said, scowling.

“But when she goes away, you miss her, you can’t function, you need her and that’s what really bothers you, isn’t it? You’re so afraid of losing her that you lost her, she won’t leave you because she knows you need her. You don’t deserve her, you know.”

“I know.” Takeshi went to the kitchen and got out a bottle of applejack, with three glasses. He poured out the first glass and handed it to Tobias.

“What happened to you, Toby?”

“I wish I knew.”

Eileen came out of the bedroom with her bags. “Come along, Toby, let’s drop off the ladies and then go to London.” They went to the limo. Takeshi brought some hashish along, and by the time they got to the Farm Tobias was feeling a lot mellower. He kissed his wife goodbye, which made Emerald roll her eyes.

Tobias was silent on the ride to London. He wasn’t bothered by the magical mode of transit, that worked in ways he would never understand. It certainly was a great way to travel, Scotland to London in under an hour. It had been explained to him that it worked on the fourth dimension, creating what could be described as a wrinkle in time and space. Because of the nature of Takeshi’s work on various treaties he needed a vehicle that could travel on both magical and nonmagical roads; he had to pass on the Muggle streets.

The vehicle was kept at the underground parking lot at their flat. The driver was one of Takeshi’s Welsh cousins, Aeron Morgan, a young man who was trying to be a writer, in both Muggle and Wizarding worlds, and needed a steady income while he pursued his dream. He had a small room on the top floor of the house, under the eaves with a view of Whitehall and even a bit of the Thames. He liked working for Takeshi. He had plenty of time off and volunteered to keep Tobias company when Takeshi was at the Ministry.

 

The Friends got their professors to agree to a four day school work, and they would do their assignments ahead of time, in return for permission to spend Thursday night through Monday morning in Avalon, helping with the harvest. Eli had prepared an entire week’s worth of assignments already, and promised to keep up with the curriculum.

She loved this festival, even though it was the most laborious of all the harvests. Each apple had to be picked by hand, carefully transported, labeled, and processed. Each beehive was checked for any problems and the bees given a special food and blessing from the priestesses, given a dish of mead to share. The Friends arrived at the Farm Thursday night and were met by Takeshi and Black Jack.

Severus asked him how he could call the mists. “So a Terran can do it?”

“Yes, once you’re officially a citizen, have the interest and inclination to learn the magic. Most of the Terrans have no interest in going back.” He looked down at Severus and smiled. He tied their bags to the saddle and led them through the gateway.

They walked to Eli’s flat and unloaded their baggage. “Eli will be back at sundown,” Takeshi said.

“I’ll get dinner started,” Severus said. Alice joined him in the kitchen.

She spotted the basket of apples. “How about some pie?”

“Do you know how to make a pie?”

“No, but you do.” She went to get the other girls and they sat at the kitchen table to peel and slice the apples while Severus showed them how to make pie crust.

Morrigan went to the horse’s room to sit on the window sill.

Eleutheria understood why Eli liked Severus so much. He was intelligent, thoughtful, well mannered, and in all ways superior to those blowhards in Gryffindor. She disliked Sirius Black intensely. James Potter was a smiling bully, who strutted around Hogwarts like he was the king. Peter Pettigrew creeped her out, he made her flesh crawl if he was too close. Remus Lupin seemed nice enough, but he was the sort who went along with the leader of whatever group he was in. An appeaser, a collaborator, like Lily Evans. She didn’t trust either of them at all.

Vivienne had always respected Severus’s intellect. She thought he should have been a Ravensclaw, since he was arguably the best student in the class. She disliked the Marauders, always had, especially Sirius Black. Her sister Rafaela liked Severus, and stuck up for him his first year as a Slytherin, where the rich kids picked on him. The upgrade in his wardrobe due to the help of the Morgans made a difference, he was more acceptable to them now.

Alice adored both Eli and Severus and thought they made a cute couple, even though Eli was clearly not the least bit interested in romance. Wait a few years, Alice thought to herself. She hoped they would hit it off and stay together, Severus belonged here, in Avalon. He was happy here. No one bullied him, he was honored for his intelligence, it was just so right.

 

After all the pies were put in the oven, Severus and Alice raided the cooler, finding soup, cold meat, and some kind of mashed root vegetable in containers, reheated the food on the stove and waited for Eli and Yojimbo to show up. As the sun reached the horizon, the workers and horses in the groves stopped worked, turned in their harvest, and headed home.

Eli stopped at the bakery for some fresh bread, she assumed Severus would cook dinner. She went down the alley to the back of her flat to Yojimbo’s room. After removing the horse’s gear, she brought the bread and a bushel of apples with her to the kitchen, and headed for the shower.

Severus fed Yojimbo then put the rest of the food on the table. While they were eating, Eli told them that they would get up by dawn and out to the orchards as soon as they could. They would join her unit. Ladders were set up and the trees picked, with horses carrying baskets transferred the harvest to the cider mills and storage sheds. The sooner the apples were picked, the sooner the parties would begin, so everyone worked hard.

Eli got out a bottle of potion that Severus had made during Midsummer, for aching muscles. She poured out a dose for each of her friends. “Drink it now, it will help you tomorrow, you’ve never done this work before and you will be in a world of hurt.”

Severus smiled. “I found that out last month when we helped bring in the grain.”

“Severus made this, it’s quite good.”

Vivienne looked at Severus. “They let you work in the laboratory, Severus? That’s impressive.”

He grinned. “It’s fantastic. Makes our facilities look medieval. And the materials here, especially the plants, are amazing. Old Slughorn was so jealous of me, wanted me to bring back samples.”

 

Alice asked, “So how many apple trees are there in Avalon?”

“I never thought to ask, or count them,” Eli said. "There are some groves and just about everyone has an apple tree or two next to their homes.”

“How do you know when to pick the apples?”

“When the apples start to fall by themselves. Then you look at the apples, see if they’re the right color, see if they feel right, the skin gets the sort of waxy feel to it, and they come off in your hand when you twist them. Not all the trees are ripe at the same time, some of the early trees are ripe at the end of August, but most seem to be right in the middle of September, that’s when we start cider pressing.”

 

 

Eli and Severus cleaned the kitchen and set up a cot for him. She knew he liked privacy, he was quite modest; shy about his pubescent body. His voice was changing and he was developing a deep, velvety voice. Eli knew he hated having to share a room with other boys, even though they were fairly well behaved. George Cameron seemed to be a really nice fellow, and the other boy, John Rollings, dropped out and got sent to Durmstrang, where he was doing much better. Horace left the space empty, and George used the vacant space to store his brooms, and by Severus for books.

George was the new Seeker for the Slytherin team, a source of a great deal of bragging by his parents. Horace made sure both boys understood that their contributions to the House allowed them a great deal of freedom, and they were not subject to any restraints or curfews; he knew he could count on their discretion. George kept a jar of Floo Powder on the mantel at all times.

Horace would not stop trying to get Eli to be one of his pets. She refused to attend his parties, after the Marauders were off detention, not wishing to give them any excuse to attack her. So Horace instituted a new practice, of high tea once a month with a very select few, always with Eli and Severus plus a couple of other students, never the same twice. Both of them did better in small groups, Horace realized, Eli was not so defensive and Severus was a shining example of the sort of conduct and deportment he was trying to teach his students. His manners were perfect. Horace knew his mother had raised him well, despite the abject poverty of his family. The new wardrobe provided by the Morgans helped him a great deal; the boy looked to be born to formal clothes and riding gear.

Horace remembered Eileen Prince; a quiet girl, hoping to become a dancer like her absentee mother. She was not pretty, but when she moved, it didn’t matter; she could hypnotize when she danced. She was a part of Takeshi’s entourage, the two were quite fond of each other, he recalled. But then, all the girls liked Takeshi. They still did. Minerva got quite giggly around him. He was extremely popular with the mothers of the other students at parent/teacher events, and was attracting a large following when his band played in Hogsmeade.

 

Severus and Eli finished cleaning the kitchen and went to give the horses some fresh bread with butter. Eli flopped down in flax pile while Severus put the food out. He stretched out next to her. “Old Slughorn is giving me total freedom, as if I were of age, because of you,” he said. “And George is so great as a seeker, he’s got the same deal. Things are getting better at school. Thanks to you and your family.”

Eli reached over and picked up his hand. They lay silently, with the moonlight streaming through the window over them. “This is really comfortable,” Severus said.

“Yes, it is. Out in the field we all tend to sleep in the same room, especially when it’s cold. Sometimes when it’s cold I sleep in my animagus form, I don’t need blankets.”

“Show me.” She shifted form, stretched, yawned, then curled up next to him. He smiled, and scratched her behind her ears, snuggling up to her. He’d never be allowed to have a pet. He’d always wanted a cat, and this was even better. A tiger to snuggle with.

She fell asleep almost immediately and he soon did, too.

 

Severus woke up first. He went to the kitchen and made coffee, the aroma woke up Eli and the horses. He made enough for everyone, then got started on breakfast.

She went to the main room and woke up the girls, got everyone dressed in exercise clothes, and they all ate a large breakfast. The horses got their carrying baskets strapped on, and Eli led the group to the grove where she’d been working the day before. Ladders were set up, and Eli demonstrated how to select a ripe apple, how to twist it off, drop in the net collection bag, using a top-down method, starting at the highest point and working down. The bags were emptied into the large pannier baskets the horses carried, and the horses brought the apples into the processing center.

Alice was astounded to see so many unicorns. “They come here for the harvest, all of the horses, they get the windfall. They keep the groves clean. The native goats, the source of the cashmere used in clothing, joined with the others. “Mind the mistletoe, don’t step on it.”

“I thought mistletoe grew only on oaks,” Vivienne said.

“Oh, no, it grows quite well on apple trees, so we come here for our Yule harvest of mistletoe, we leave the oaks alone. The apple trees like us. We take care of the trees, we take care of the bees that pollinate them, and they give us apples,” Eli said.

“And when they blossom, so gorgeous,” said Alice, remembering the sight of the apple trees last spring.

 

They soon got used to the repetitive labor and found it was a great place to discuss things they didn’t feel safe talking about at Hogwarts. Eleutheria asked, “Have any of you had any Ministry types hanging around your home, asking questions? My mother wrote to me about these two obvious Aurors pretending to be tourists, but she actually recognized one of them from her days at Hogwarts and knew he was always a snitch and informer. Of course everyone was on to them; our community is pretty good at keeping our business to ourselves. We’re part of the Ring of Fire authority, and they didn’t like the Brits coming here and poking around.”

Alice said, “Funny you should mention that, my mother’s law firm has been under surveillance, too. As if you could fool a coven of soliciters and barristers!”

Vivienne spoke up. “Mother and Father know what’s going on. You know that they don’t much care for the Malfoys and Blacks, and those two families are out to get the Fey. I mean, we’re one of those ‘sacred purebloods’ and now are called ‘blood traitors’ because we think Muggles are just fine, and there is no reason to discriminate based on bloodlines. Such idiocy. How about you, Severus?”

He looked thoughtful. “Well, you know my dad’s a Muggle and we’re really poor, so they don’t think I’m all that interesting, at least not at Spinner’s End, it’s so Muggle they keep their distance. But the Farm is being watched. No one cares, they just like to spy on people, like to try and catch you out, so it’s important to behave properly, my mother says.”

“My great grandmother says the same thing,” Eli added. “My dad’s office at the Ministry has been bugged, and he knows it. He enjoys how being totally upfront and honest beats them at their own game.”

“They’re dishonest so they think everyone else is,” said Alice. “It must annoy the hell out of ‘em.”

Eli laughed, thinking of the poisoned courtesy of Malfoy when he encountered Takeshi. Malfoy was sucking up to anyone he could, trying to get a position at the Ministry, and Takeshi had a lot of friends there. He couldn’t be openly hostile, so he directed his attacks on the Fey, questioning their trustworthiness, after all, he hinted, why wouldn’t they desire payback for the hostile eviction they’d been served here? He simply couldn’t comprehend anyone acting in anything other than blatant self interest and vengeance. Malfoy didn’t understand that there was nothing he had that the Fey wanted.

 

Eileen and Emerald stopped by at midday with a food truck. They gave the group flatbread with chopped meat and vegetables, apple pie, coffee and cider. They refilled the water jug and moved to the next group of harvesters. “We’ll have dinner with you children, we’ll cook for you tonight,” Emerald said as she left.

They ate lunch, then rested for about an hour and a half, which Eli said was standard. They watched beekeepers harvest honey, Eli explaining that they did a fifty-fifty split with the bees. The keepers carefully cleaned out the artfully created hives, which were made of apple wood. They left offerings to the bees and the queen. The bees never stung anyone, Alice noted.

They cleared two trees in that afternoon, leaving the ladders set up on the next tree. Eli went with the horses to deliver their harvest and the others went to her flat, where Eileen and Emerald had cooked for them. They were each given a dose of Severus’s potion, then a glass of cider. When Eli and the horses got back, they served dinner, first to the horses. “See you tomorrow,” Emerald said. “Takeshi is waiting dinner for us.” The women left.

 

After cleaning the kitchen and setting up a cot for Severus, they went to the main room to watch Muggle movies. Eli was fond of Powell and Pressberger films and was screening “The Edge of the World” with “Black Narcissus.” She put pillows and blankets over a futon set up next to the hearth where they all reclined. The girls were too tired to talk much.

Vivienne was the first one to fall asleep, then Alice, decided to get some sleep, then Eleutheria dropped off. When the movie was over, Eli and Severus went to check on the horses. “I think I’ll crash in here again,” she said.

“Can I stay with you again?”

“I don’t mind . .. but you know how people are . .. I don’t want them thinking the wrong thing. Even the girls, your mother, they’d think we’re having sex or something.”

“I know. Some of the boys do things with each other. I’ve been invited but I just don’t want to.”

“So do some of the girls, I’ve been invited, too,” Eli said. “We just don’t do that until we’re 17, I guess we mature slower than Terrans. We hold hands, we sleep in groups sometimes in the children’s home, and of course we know what goes on with adults. There’s no mystery, so we don’t feel the need to find out on our own what goes on. I can get you some texts if you’re interested.”

“I am. You know, this is a lot more comfortable than that cot,” he said. “It was great last night, I never got to have a pet, and you’re so cuddly when you’re a tiger.”

Eli grinned. “Only you would say a tiger is cuddly.” She took the bedroll off her saddle. “I do sleep well in animagus form.” She tossed him a blanket, then went to the corner where the flax was piled and shapeshifted, and curled up. Severus went to her, curled up next to her and pulled the blanket over him. They both fell asleep immediately. Eli was the first to wake up the next morning.

The next two days were much the same, and on Monday morning, before dawn, they went to the gateway carrying apples for the commons in their houses. Eli gave Severus her homework assignments to hand in, saying, “See you Thursday.” Cordelia drove them back to Hogwarts in time to change into their uniforms and get some breakfast.


	19. Eli Beats the Boggart

As the term went on, Professor Clary Sage came to dislike Eli more.  It wasn't that she was a Faerie, it was just that she clearly knew a lot more about the topic than he ever would, and that was intimidating, to say the least.  

 The class that day was an introduction to boggarts.

After explaining what a boggart is, a manifestation of the innermost fear of a person, and how to eliminate them with the Ridikulus spell, the class was lined up to face the creature. Because of their shape-shifting ability, no one knows what a boggart looks like when it is alone, as it instantly changes into one's worst fears when one first see it. That’s what it said in the text.

 

After the Professor Clary Sage went over the lesson on boggarts, he announced they would have their chance to face their fears. He lined them up at the back of the classroom. Eli was interested to see what her classmate’s biggest fears were, for that would indicate a great deal about their psyches. Most of the students had predictable fears; snakes, spiders, various magical creatures of ill repute, and one girl, Vetiver Collins, saw what looked like a rapist, a man wearing a ski mask with his pants open. The girl at first cowered, but recovered quickly, and the man was changed into an organ grinder’s monkey in a hat and vest.

 

Sirius approached the wardrobe with his usual swagger. He was grinning when suddenly an enourmous woman, middle aged, perfectly coifed and made up, dressed in an elegant suit, reached for his throat, her arms moving faster than a cobra strike.

“Mother, don’t hurt me” Sirius whimpered, and couldn’t stop from pissing himself. He dropped his wand.

James Potter jumped forward, yelled “RIDIKULUS” and waved his wand, and the figure changed to the same woman dressed in a skimpy French maid’s costume. James grabbed Sirius’s arm and took him out of the classroom.

“Professor, maybe this is not such a good idea,” said Eli.

Sage made a dismissive gesture. “Next!”

Remus walked up. The wardrobe opened, and white clouds drifted into the room, the color that clouds are when they are hiding the moon, that luminous white. Remus blanched. Eli’s eyes opened wider. She realized what was wrong with him, but she would need confirmation before she said anything. Remus was able to collect himself and turned the clouds into a rain of confetti.

Next to step up to the plate was Lily. The doors opened, and a horrible looking creature, in the shape of a man, with a scaly white face, no nose, looking more like a snake-human hybrid, came out. Lily showed no fear, even though the professor gasped and most of the class shrank back. Eli’s back prickled, the sure sign this was a prophecy, a forewarning.

Severus flinched when he saw the thing. She looked in his mind. He felt something amiss, this was not just the fear of a teenaged girl. This was something more. Lily did not hesitate, she stood up tall and waved her wand, cast the spell, and the thing turned into a pink stuffed plush toy of a snake. As she turned to go back to the others, she met Eli’s eyes. Eli broke the rules and sent her a message [ _could you meet me after class in the girl’s bathroom?]_ Lily gave a brief nod.

“So, Eli, why don’t you show the class what you are afraid of next?” said Prof Sage. “Sure.” She stepped up to the wardrobe. The professor opened the door. Nothing happened. After a minute or two, she said, “Where is the little bugger?” and approached the wardrobe to look inside.

A horrible screech came out of it and the doors slammed shut. Alice laughed. The professor looked stunned. This had never happened before. He stared at Eli. “Maybe I’m the boggart’s worst fear,” she chuckled.

The professor was unable to open the doors again, every time he tried the wee beastie inside shrieked and pulled the doors shut.

“Maybe you fear nothing,” said Severus. “And that critter couldn’t handle it!”

Remus stared at her with his mouth open . The students who had not had a chance to try it were all grateful that they were spared having to show the class such personal and shameful things. The professor let the class go early.

Eli headed straight to the girl’s bathroom. Lily was right behind her. They went to the far corner and Eli turned to her and said, “What was that thing?”

“I have no idea.”

“It’s just that, I don’t know how to put this, when that thing appeared, I got this feeling, you know that we have a lot of what you’d call seers and prophets, I’m too young of course to do that sort of thing, but we all have this, I dunno, sense? That was a prophecy of some sort. The boggart somehow triggered a sort of, fetch, maybe, not quite but similar, it’s a warning. It is the shape of your death, I think. I am not qualified to be able to judge exactly what it is. But it, well, scared me to see it. Be careful.”

“ It scared YOU? Never let it be said that I disregard good advice.”

“I thought you were very brave. You took it out quickly, no hesitation.”

“What do you think I should do?”

“Not sure. Try and find out if anyone knows what it was. I’ll run this by the Crones next time I am back in Avalon. They might know. I tell you what, Sage seemed surprised, too. What a stupid class. If he wanted to do that sort of thing, he should have had us come in alone, so no one would be embarrassed or shamed.”

“You mean like poor Sirius.”

“That was his MOTHER? No wonder he’s such a mess. And Vetiver, I couldn’t help but overhear her thoughts …she was attacked by a man like that.”

“She was raped?”

“I can’t tell you the details, it’s her memory. She took it out like a champ. She’s got a lot of strength inside her. She felt . .. shame in front of the class, it was her deepest secret.”

“Poor Sirius,” Lily said, and Eli rolled her eyes. “Maybe you were right about the class being a bad idea.” She took Eli’s hand, and smiled. “Do you know how you beat the boggart?”

Eli grinned. “I’m a better telepath than it was and I just looked in its mind first. It was not expecting that.”

“Isn’t that cheating?”

“No, on the contrary, I don’t waste magic if I don’t have to. Better to stop the fight before it happens, eh? And I really didn’t much care for the class. I don’t think it’s right to make students reveal their inner daemons in public. I don’t think it’s appropriate. Look what happened to your pal.”

Lily thought of how humiliated Sirius must be right now.

“I’d advise you to try and figure out what that thing represented, and the next time I’m in Avalon I’ll go to the Crones and ask their advice. They can take a look at my memory and see if they can find out what it is. You know any reputable diviners? Get a reading, it could be some kind of warning, and if you see it again you’re in trouble. But I am not an expert.”

 

The bathroom door opened and some of the students who had just been released from the classroom next door entered.

“Well, I gotta go,” Eli said, and disappeared through the door. She camouflaged herself as she slipped down the hall. Remus and James were standing across from the lavatory door, and when Lily came out she joined them.

“How’s Sirius?” Lily asked. Remus shook his head.

“He’s a bit of a mess right now. He took off for the shack, said he needed to be alone. I’m bringing him some food.”

 

Lily told them what Eli had done to the boggart and why, and James laughed loudly. “le Fey really showed old Sage who’s the better in the Dark Arts, eh? He never should have gotten in her face the first day of class.”

“That was awfully nice of her to do that,” Remus said. “I didn’t like it very much myself.” He was wondering if Eli knew about him. She probably knew what the boggart was representing. That was probably why she wouldn’t let him come near her. She knew about him.

 

Eli sauntered to her corner and sat down next to Severus. “How did you do that?” he asked.

She grinned ear to ear. “Oh, I just went into its mind while it was trying to get in my mind, and I told it I would make it manifest as it really looks. So everyone in class would be first to see what a boggart really looked like, and they would all laugh. All without waving a wand. Besides, it never would have been able to get inside my mind very far, I’m a better telepath than it.”

“So what is your deepest fear, my warrior maid?”

“You tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine. I just didn’t like how public it was. I have training in facing fear, of course, but such lessons are done privately, not in front of others, who might use your fear against you.”

“So that’s psionics,” he said.

“Yup.”

“I thought you weren’t supposed to use that here.”

“Read the agreement I signed, I agreed not to use it on any students or staff, and the boggart is neither.”

 

Just then, George Cameron came up. “Hey, what did you think about old Black pissing his panties when his mommy showed up?”

“Hey, shut up, I hate the wanker more than any of you, but that was wrong. Come on now, can you imagine the primal fear of a murderous mother? No wonder he’s such a worthless sack of shit. His whole family is crazier than a bat on acid, so inbred they’re all barking mad. I can see using this as a training method, but not in so many witnesses.”

Her face contracted into a grin. “But I gotta admit, if anyone had to be so horribly embarrassed, I’m glad it was him.”

George laughed. “Everyone of those peers of magic, all Slytherins, the Malfoys, Notts, etc, they all teased her about him, the apostate. Don’t know how you beat the boggart, but you’re a legend here already. Don’t think Sage like it. He’s such a twat, who cares, kinda fun to see him get bent.”

 

Professor Sage was quite annoyed with Eli. She kept showing him up. He realized then this whole teaching thing was not for him and planned on beginning a job search. He didn’t really like kids anyway.


End file.
